Black hole binary inspiral and trajectory dominance

ORAL

Abstract

Gravitational waves emitted during the inspiral, plunge and merger of a black hole binary carry linear momentum. This results in an astrophysically important recoil to the final merged black hole, a ``kick'' that can eject it from the nucleus of a galaxy. We had previously showed that the puzzling partial cancellation of an early kick by a late antikick, and the dependence of the cancellation on black hole spin, can be understood from the phenomenology of the linear momentum waveforms. Here we connect that phenomenology to its underlying cause, the spin-dependence of the inspiral trajectories. This insight suggests that the details of plunge can be understood more broadly with a focus on inspiral trajectories.

Authors

  • Richard Price

    Univ of Texas, Brownsville

  • Hanu Arava

    University of Houston, University of Texas at Brownsville, None, Univ of Texas, San Antonio, University of Texas at El Paso, Univ of Arizona, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Laboratoire des Mat\'eriaux Avanc\'es, Universit\'e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UTEP, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Arlington, MIT, U. Mass. Dartmouth, Texas A{\&}M University, Texas Christian University, Laboratoire des Mat\'erieux Avanc\'es B\^atiment Virgo, Ion Beam Materials Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Texas A\&M University, Accelerator Research Laboratory, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Yale University, University of Guelph, Canada, Armagh Observatory, NASA-Ames, NASA-Goddard, Texas A\&M University-Commerce, Texas A\&M University, Hanyang University, Texas A\&M Univ, Department of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, Physics Department, Texas State University at San Marcos

  • Hanu Arava

    University of Houston, University of Texas at Brownsville, None, Univ of Texas, San Antonio, University of Texas at El Paso, Univ of Arizona, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Laboratoire des Mat\'eriaux Avanc\'es, Universit\'e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UTEP, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Arlington, MIT, U. Mass. Dartmouth, Texas A{\&}M University, Texas Christian University, Laboratoire des Mat\'erieux Avanc\'es B\^atiment Virgo, Ion Beam Materials Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Texas A\&M University, Accelerator Research Laboratory, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Yale University, University of Guelph, Canada, Armagh Observatory, NASA-Ames, NASA-Goddard, Texas A\&M University-Commerce, Texas A\&M University, Hanyang University, Texas A\&M Univ, Department of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, Physics Department, Texas State University at San Marcos