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Detecting Massive Scalar Fields with Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspirals
Susanna Barsanti1,2, Andrea Maselli3,4, Thomas P Sotiriou5,6
1Dipartimento di Fisica, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy.
Physical Review Letters
|August 18, 2023
Summary
Future LISA observations can detect ultralight scalars by measuring their mass and charge from gravitational waves emitted by extreme mass-ratio inspirals. This study provides a framework for analyzing these signals.
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics
- General Relativity
- Cosmology
Background:
- Extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are crucial sources for gravitational wave astronomy.
- Light scalar fields are hypothetical particles that could interact with gravity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the imprints of light scalar fields on gravitational waves from EMRIs.
- To determine if future gravitational wave detectors can constrain scalar field properties.
Main Methods:
- Developed a theory-agnostic framework to model scalar field effects on EMRIs.
- Analyzed the waveform to identify key parameters related to scalar fields.
Main Results:
- Scalar field effects on EMRIs are characterized by two parameters: scalar mass and scalar charge.
- These parameters can be precisely measured from EMRIs using future observatories like LISA.
Conclusions:
- Future LISA observations will have the capability to detect ultralight scalars.
- This work opens avenues for using gravitational waves to probe fundamental physics.
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