Related papers: Probing Spin-Orbit Resonances with the Binary Blac…
We have used our new technique for fully numerical evolutions of orbiting black-hole binaries without excision to model the last orbit and merger of an equal-mass black-hole system. We track the trajectories of the individual apparent…
It has been suggested that amplitudes for quantum higher-spin massive particles exchanging gravitons lead, via a classical limit, to results for scattering of spinning black holes in general relativity, when the massive particles are in a…
The development of eccentric waveform models enables us to explore the growing catalog of gravitational-wave events with measurable eccentricity. This opens new opportunities to gain insight into the formation channels and evolutionary…
We demonstrate how to constrain the degree of absolute alignment of the total angular momenta of LIGO-Virgo binary black holes, looking for a special direction in space that would break isotropy. We also allow for inhomogeneities in the…
Stellar theory predicts a forbidden range of black-hole masses between ${\sim}50$--$130\,M_\odot$ due to pair-instability supernovae, but evidence for such a gap in the mass distribution from gravitational-wave astronomy has proved elusive.…
We use recent progress in simulating the production of magnetohydrodynamic jets around black holes to derive the cosmic spin history of the most massive black holes, with masses >~10^8 Msol. Assuming the jet efficiency depends on spin a, we…
We revisit the problem of predicting the spin magnitude and direction of the black hole resulting from the merger of two black holes with arbitrary masses and spins inspiralling in quasi-circular orbits. We do this by analyzing a catalog of…
We study the long-term orbital evolution of stars around a merging massive or supermassive black-hole (BH) binary, taking into account the general relativistic effect induced by the BH spin. When the BH spin is significant compared to and…
Tremendous progress has been made towards the solution of the binary-black-hole problem in numerical relativity. The waveforms produced by numerical relativity will play a role in gravitational wave detection as either test-beds for…
The construction of initial data for black-hole binaries usually involves the choice of free parameters that define the spins of the black holes and essentially the eccentricity of the orbit. Such parameters must be chosen carefully to…
We extend our recent work on black hole spin in X-ray binary systems to include an analysis of 189 archival NuSTAR observations from 24 sources. Using self-consistent data reduction pipelines, spectral models, and statistical techniques, we…
We investigate the joint primary mass, mass ratio, and redshift observed distribution of astrophysical black holes using the gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration and included in the third gravitational…
We derive spin-dominated waveforms (SDW) for binary systems composed of spinning black holes with unequal masses (less than 1:30). Such systems could be formed by an astrophysical black hole with a smaller black hole or a neutron star…
Current searches for gravitational waves from compact-object binaries with the LIGO and Virgo observatories employ waveform models with spins aligned (or anti-aligned) with the orbital angular momentum. Here, we derive a new statistic to…
Simulations of binary neutron stars have seen great advances in terms of physical detail and numerical quality. However, the spin of the neutron stars, one of the simplest global parameters of binaries, remains mostly unstudied. We present…
Black-hole binary spin precession admits equilibrium solutions corresponding to systems with (anti-) aligned spins. Among these, binaries in the up-down configuration, where the spin of the heavier (lighter) black hole is co- (counter-)…
The vast majority of compact binary mergers in the Universe produce gravitational waves that are too weak to yield unambiguous detections; they are unresolved. We present a method to infer the population properties of compact binaries --…
The launch of NuSTAR and the increasing number of binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected through gravitational wave (GW) observations have exponentially advanced our understanding of black holes. Despite the simplicity owed to being fully…
The recently reported binary black hole merger, GW231123, has unusual properties that make it hard to explain astrophysically. Parameter estimation studies are consistent with maximally spinning black holes and the dimensionless spin of the…
We study the effect of external companion on the orbital and spin evolution of merging black-hole (BH) binaries. An sufficiently close by and inclined companion can excite Lidov-Kozai (LK) eccentricity oscillations in the binary, thereby…