Related papers: Finding Black Holes: an Unconventional Multi-messe…
We review the state of the evidence for the existence and observational appearance of supermassive black hole binaries. Such objects are expected from standard hierarchical galaxy evolution to form after two galaxies, each containing a…
We discuss the potential of the gravitational microlensing method as a unique tool to detect unambiguous signals caused by intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters. We select clusters near the line of sight to the Galactic Bulge…
Binary black holes have been in limelight off late due to the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries in the events GW150914 and GW151226. In this paper we study gravitational lensing by the binary black holes…
The next decade is expected to see the launch of one or more space based gravitational wave detectors: the European lead Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA); and one or more Chinese mission concepts, Taiji and TianQin. One of the…
We present a method of calculating the strong-field gravitational lensing caused by many analytic and numerical spacetimes. We use this procedure to calculate the distortion caused by isolated black holes and by numerically evolved black…
The merger rate of black hole binaries inferred from the detections in the first Advanced LIGO science run, implies that a stochastic background produced by a cosmological population of mergers will likely mask the primordial…
Study of gravitational-radiation induced merging rates of relativistic binary stars (double neutron stars; neutron star + black hole; double black holes) shows that the first-generation gravitational wave interferometers with an…
The most compelling evidences for the existence of stellar-mass black holes have been obtained through observations of X-ray binary systems. The application of classical methods and the development of new techniques have allowed us to…
We review the theoretical aspects of gravitational lensing by black holes, and discuss the perspectives for realistic observations. We will first treat lensing by spherically symmetric black holes, in which the formation of infinite…
This a particularly exciting time for gravitational wave physics. Ground-based gravitational wave detectors are now operating at a sensitivity such that gravitational radiation may soon be directly detected, and recently several groups have…
Advanced LIGO and Virgo have detected ten binary black hole mergers by the end of their second observing run. These mergers have already allowed constraints to be placed on the population distribution of black holes in the Universe, which…
Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool to search for a population of invisible black holes (BHs) in the Milky Way (MW), including isolated BHs and binary BHs at wide orbits that are complementary to gravitational wave observations.…
Space based gravitational wave astronomy will open a completely new window on the Universe and massive black holes binaries are expected to be among the primary actors on this upcoming stage. The New Gravitational-wave Observatory (NGO) is…
A supermassive binary black-hole candidate SDSS J1430+2303 reported recently motivates us to investigate an imminent binary of supermassive black holes as potential gravitational wave source, the radiated gravitational waves at the end of…
The heaviest black holes discovered through gravitational waves have masses that are difficult to explain with current standard stellar models. This discrepancy may be due to a series of hierarchical mergers, where the observed black holes…
Stellar-mass binary black hole mergers are poised to represent the majority of gravitational-wave (GW) observations by Advanced LIGO and Virgo. Probing their origin will be difficult due to the expected lack of electromagnetic emission and…
Since the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015 by LIGO from the binary black hole merger GW150914, gravitational-wave astronomy has developed significantly, with over 200 compact binary merger events cataloged. The use of neural…
Current astrophysical observations show that on large scale the Universe is electrically neutral. However, locally this may be quite different. Black holes enveloped by a plasma in the presence of a strong magnetic field may have acquired a…
Strong gravitational lensing occurs when photons pass through the vicinity of a black hole. We investigate this phenomenon in the context of a gravitational-wave event, specifically when a black hole is settling into its final state. The…
Binary black holes can form efficiently in dense young stellar clusters, such as the progenitors of globular clusters, via a combination of gravitational segregation and cluster evaporation. We use simple analytic arguments supported by…