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Michael Kesden1, Davide Gerosa2, Richard O'Shaughnessy3

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Binary black hole (BBH) spin precession is solved analytically, revealing quasiperiodic behaviors and classifying precession into three morphologies. This advances modeling of gravitational waves from BBH mergers.

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Area of Science:

  • Astrophysics
  • General Relativity
  • Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Background:

  • Binary black hole (BBH) mergers are key sources of gravitational waves.
  • Understanding BBH spin dynamics is crucial for interpreting gravitational wave signals.
  • Previous models often simplified spin precession effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To derive an effective potential for BBH spin precession at second post-Newtonian order.
  • To analytically solve the orbit-averaged spin-precession equations.
  • To classify BBH spin precession morphologies and understand their evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Derivation of an effective potential for BBH spin precession.
  • Analytical solution of orbit-averaged spin-precession equations.
  • Analysis of quasiperiodic spin solutions and their implications.

Main Results:

  • BBH spins exhibit quasiperiodic evolution, returning to initial orientations and precessing jointly.
  • Three distinct morphologies of BBH spin precession are identified.
  • A new class of spin-orbit resonances is discovered, capable of tilting the total angular momentum.

Conclusions:

  • The derived solutions enable accurate modeling of gravitational waves from generic BBH mergers.
  • These findings improve predictions for final BBH spins and gravitational recoils.
  • The study provides a deeper understanding of relativistic spin dynamics in compact object binaries.