Related papers: Black hole spectroscopy in environments: detectabi…
Gravitational wave echoes may appear following a compact binary coalescence if the remnant is an "exotic compact object" (ECO). ECOs are proposed alternatives to the black holes of Einstein's general relativity theory and are predicted to…
Primordial black holes in the mass range of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors can comprise a significant fraction of the dark matter. Mass and spin measurements from coalescences can be used to distinguish between an astrophysical…
The modeling of gravitational wave ringdown has traditionally relied on linear perturbation theory, which mainly describes the late-time behavior of a perturbed black hole after a binary merger. However, the need for more accurate ringdown…
We characterize the expected statistical errors with which the parameters of black-hole binaries can be measured from gravitational-wave (GW) observations of their inspiral, merger and ringdown by a network of second-generation ground-based…
The characteristic oscillations of black holes, as described by their quasinormal mode (QNM) spectrum, play a fundamental role in testing general relativity with gravitational waves. The so-called parametrized QNM framework was introduced…
Astrophysical black holes could be nearly extremal (that is, rotating nearly as fast as possible); therefore, nearly extremal black holes could be among the binaries that current and future gravitational-wave observatories will detect.…
In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using ringdown waveforms from supermassive black holes immersed in dark-matter halos to extract both the intrinsic black-hole parameters and those characterizing the surrounding matter…
Gravitational-wave observations of black hole ringdowns are commonly used to characterize binary merger remnants and to test general relativity. These analyses assume linear black hole perturbation theory, in particular that the ringdown…
The next generation of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are likely to observe gravitational waves from the coalescences of compact-objects binaries. We describe the state of the art for predictions of the rate of compact-binary…
Quasinormal modes of rapidly rotating black holes were recently computed in a generic effective-field-theory extension of general relativity with higher-derivative corrections. We exploit this breakthrough to perform the most complete…
The merger of binary black holes produces a series of decaying oscillations, during which energy is radiated in gravitational waves. The characteristic signal in the ringdown phase can be described by complex oscillation frequencies called…
The interaction of binary black hole mergers with their environments can be studied using numerical relativity simulations. These start only a short finite time before merger, at which point appropriate initial conditions must be imposed. A…
The recent discovery of the stochastic gravitational-wave background via pulsar timing arrays will likely be followed by the detection of individual black hole binaries that stand out above the background. However, to confidently claim the…
The early inspiral of massive stellar-mass black-hole binaries merging in LIGO's sensitivity band will be detectable at low frequencies by the upcoming space mission LISA. LISA will predict, with years of forewarning, the time and frequency…
During the ringdown phase of a gravitational signal emitted by a black hole, the least damped quasinormal frequency dominates. If modifications to Einstein's theory induce noticeable deformations of the black-hole geometry only near the…
Recent progress in numerical relativity now allows computation of the binary black hole merger, whereas post-Newtonian and perturbative techniques can be used to model the inspiral and ringdown phases. So far, most gravitational-wave…
Binary black holes occupy a special place in our quest for understanding the evolution of galaxies along cosmic history. If massive black holes grow at the center of (pre-)galactic structures that experience a sequence of merger episodes,…
The era of gravitational-wave astronomy has started with the discovery of the binary black hole coalescences (BBH) GW150914 and GW151226 by the LIGO instruments. These systems allowed for the first direct measurement of masses and spins of…
We study the inspiral, merger and ringdown of unequal mass black hole binaries by analyzing a catalogue of numerical simulations for seven different values of the mass ratio (from q=M2/M1=1 to q=4). We compare numerical and Post-Newtonian…
Now that LIGO has revealed the existence of a large number of binary black holes, identifying their origin becomes an important challenge. They might originate in more isolated regions of the galaxy or alternatively they might reside in…