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Detectable Environmental Effects in GW190521-like Black-Hole Binaries with LISA
Alexandre Toubiana1,2, Laura Sberna3, Andrea Caputo4,5,6
1APC, AstroParticule et Cosmologie, Université de Paris, CNRS, F-75013 Paris, France.
Physical Review Letters
|March 30, 2021
Summary
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will detect gas-rich black hole binaries earlier than ground-based detectors. This will allow for early electromagnetic follow-up observations, providing new insights into these cosmic events.
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics
- Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Background:
- GW190521 represents the most massive compact binary detected, with a black hole possibly within the pair-instability mass gap.
- An optical flare from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) was potentially linked to GW190521, suggesting post-merger motion within an AGN disk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) in detecting gas-rich black hole binaries.
- To investigate LISA's capability to provide early alerts for electromagnetic follow-up observations.
- To analyze how environmental factors in AGNs affect gravitational wave signals.
Main Methods:
- Simulating LISA's detection capabilities for gas-rich black hole binaries.
- Analyzing potential deviations in gravitational waveforms due to accretion disks and dynamical friction.
- Investigating LISA's localization accuracy for these sources.
Main Results:
- LISA could detect numerous gas-rich black hole binaries months to years before ground-based observatories.
- LISA offers precise sky localization (within ≈1°²) for these events.
- LISA can measure waveform deviations caused by accretion, dynamical friction, and orbital motion.
Conclusions:
- LISA is crucial for enabling timely electromagnetic observations of gas-rich black hole binaries.
- This capability will provide direct insights into the physics of these systems.
- LISA data will help distinguish environmental effects from potential deviations from general relativity.
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