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Area of Science:

  • Astrophysical relativity
  • Gravitational wave astronomy
  • Black hole physics

Background:

  • Binary black holes on quasicircular orbits with aligned spins are standard models in relativity.
  • Symmetry ensures these configurations are equilibrium solutions to spin-precession equations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the stability of binary black hole spin configurations.
  • To identify conditions under which aligned and anti-aligned spins become unstable.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of spin-precession equations for binary black holes.
  • Application of recently developed analytical techniques to characterize spin precession.
  • Identification of specific binary separation ranges for instability.

Main Results:

  • Identified an instability in binary black hole configurations where the higher-mass black hole spin is aligned and the lower-mass black hole spin is anti-aligned.
  • This instability leads to large spin misalignment at specific binary separations.
  • The instability occurs for a broad range of spin magnitudes and mass ratios, even near merger.

Conclusions:

  • The identified spin instability challenges assumptions of astrophysical spin alignment.
  • This instability provides a mechanism for significant spin precession before black hole merger.
  • It impacts both gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signatures of merging binary black holes.