Black Hole Perturbation Approach Research Articles

Note on accuracy of the post-Newtonian approximation for extreme-mass ratio inspirals: retrograde orbits

The post-Newtonian approximation is useful to discuss gravitational waveforms for binary inspirals. In this note, for retrograde circular orbits in the equatorial plane, we discuss the region of validity of the post-Newtonian approximation by using the gravitational energy flux derived numerically and analytically in the black hole perturbation approach. It is found that the edge of the allowable region behaves quite intricately, including prograde orbits even if we treat higher post-Newtonian orders.

Accuracy of the post-Newtonian approximation for extreme mass ratio inspirals from a black-hole perturbation approach

We revisit the accuracy of the post-Newtonian (PN) approximation and its region of validity for quasi-circular orbits of a point particle in the Kerr spacetime, by using an analytically known highest post-Newtonian order gravitational energy flux and accurate numerical results in the black hole perturbation approach. It is found that regions of validity become larger for higher PN order results although there are several local maximums in regions of validity for relatively low-PN order results. This might imply that higher PN order calculations are also encouraged for comparable-mass binaries.

Perturbative effects of spinning black holes in the extreme mass-ratio limit

Recently, we proposed an enhancement of the Regge–Wheeler–Zerilli formalism for first-order perturbations about a Schwarzschild background that includes first-order corrections due to the background black-hole spin in the black-hole perturbation approach. Using this formalism, we analytically investigate gravitational wave emission and linear momentum flux from a head-on collision of two spinning black holes in the extreme mass-ratio limit. The result derived in the lowest slow-motion and weak-field approximations here is consistent with the post-Newtonian calculation.

Second-order quasinormal mode of the Schwarzschild black hole

We formulate and calculate the second-order quasinormal modes (QNMs) of a Schwarzschild black hole (BH). Gravitational waves (GW) from a distorted BH, the so-called ringdowns, are well understood as QNMs in general relativity. Since QNMs from binary BH mergers will be detected with a high signal-to-noise ratio by GW detectors, it is also possible to detect the second perturbative order of QNMs, generated by nonlinear gravitational interaction near the BH. In the BH perturbation approach, we derive the master Zerilli equation for the metric perturbation to second order and explicitly regularize it at the horizon and spatial infinity. We numerically solve the second-order Zerilli equation by implementing the modified Leaver continued fraction method. The second-order QNM frequencies are found to be twice the first-order ones, and the GW amplitude is up to $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ that of the first order for the binary BH mergers. Since the second-order QNMs always exist, we can use their detections (i) to test the nonlinearity of general relativity, in particular, the no-hair theorem, (ii) to remove fake events in the data analysis of QNM GWs, and (iii) to measure the distance to the BH.

Possibility to determine the radius of accretion disk by gravitational waves

We investigate gravitational waves from a dust disk around a Schwarzschild black hole to focus on whether we can extract any of its physical properties from a direct detection of gravitational waves. We adopt a black hole perturbation approach in a time domain, which is a satisfactory approximation to illustrate a dust disk in a supermassive black hole. We find that we can determine the radius of the disk by using the power spectrum of gravitational waves and that our method to extract the radius works for a disk of arbitrary density distribution. Therefore we believe a possibility exists for determining the radius of the disk from a direct observation of gravitational waves detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.

Gravitational waves from a dust disk around a Schwarzschild black hole

We investigate gravitational waves from a dust disk around a Schwarzschild black hole to focus on whether we can extract any of its physical properties from a direct detection of gravitational waves. We adopt a black hole perturbation approach in a time domain, which is a satisfactory approximation to illustrate a dust disk in a supermassive black hole. We find that we can determine the radius of the disk by using the power spectrum of gravitational waves and that our method to extract the radius works for a disk of arbitrary density distribution. Therefore we believe a possibility exists for determining the radius of the disk from a direct observation of gravitational waves detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.

A New Analytical Method for Self-Force Regularization. II: -- Testing the Efficiency for Circular Orbits --

In a previous paper, based on the black hole perturbation approach, we formulated a new analytical method for regularizing the self-force acting on a particle of small mass $\mu$ orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole of mass $M$, where $\mu\ll M$. In our method, we divide the self-force into the $\tilde S$-part and $\tilde R$-part. All the singular behaviors are contained in the $\tilde S$-part, and hence the $\tilde R$-part is guaranteed to be regular. In this paper, focusing on the case of a scalar-charged particle for simplicity, we investigate the precision of both the regularized $\tilde S$-part and the $\tilde R$-part required for the construction of sufficiently accurate waveforms for almost circular inspiral orbits. For the regularized $\tilde S$-part, we calculate it for circular orbits to 18 post-Newtonian (PN) order and investigate the convergence of the post-Newtonian expansion. We also study the convergence of the remaining $\tilde{R}$-part in the spherical harmonic expansion. We find that a sufficiently accurate Green function can be obtained by keeping the terms up to $\ell=13$.