Repeated bursts from relativistic scattering of compact objects in galactic nuclei

2011/09/30 by Bence Kocsis, Janna Levin · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Active galactic nucleus #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Electron #Galaxy #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Nuclear physics #Optics #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Relativistic beaming #Relativistic particle #Scattering #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.HE #gr-qc

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.85.123005

published as Phys.Rev.D85:123005,2012 · 16 pages, 10 figures, version accepted for publication in Physical Review D

openalex publication_date 2012/06/14 · arxiv created 2012/07/09 · arxiv updated 2012/07/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Galactic nuclei are densely populated by stellar mass compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars. Bound, highly eccentric binaries form as a result of gravitational wave (GW) losses during close flybys between these objects. We study the evolution of these systems using 2.5 and 3.5 order post-Newtonian (PN) equations of motion. The GW signal consists of many thousand repeated bursts (RB) for minutes to days (depending on the impact parameter and masses), followed by a powerful GW chirp and an eccentric merger. We show that a significant signal-to-noise ratio accumulates already in the RB phase, corresponding to a detection limit around 200--300 Mpc and 300--600 Mpc for advanced LIGO for an average orientation black hole/neutron star or black hole/black hole binary, respectively. The theoretical errors introduced by the inaccuracy of the PN templates are typically much less severe for the RB phase than in the following eccentric merger. The GW signal in the RB phase is broadband; we show that encounters involving intermediate mass black holes are detectable in multiple frequency bands coincidentally using LIGO and LISA.

Citations

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Cited by

• Pre-merger localization of eccentric compact binary coalescences with second-generation gravitational-wave detector networks
• Comparison between self-force and post-Newtonian dynamics: Beyond circular orbits
• First order post-Newtonian gravitational waveforms of binaries on eccentric orbits with Hansen coefficients
• Multiband gravitational-wave event rates and stellar physics
• Eccentric Black Hole Gravitational-wave Capture Sources in Galactic Nuclei: Distribution of Binary Parameters
• Detecting Supermassive Black Hole–induced Binary Eccentricity Oscillations with LISA