Dynamical Friction in Gravitational Atoms

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Tomaselli, Giovanni Maria, Spieksma, Thomas F. M., Bertone, Gianfranco
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Tomaselli, Giovanni Maria
Spieksma, Thomas F. M.
Bertone, Gianfranco
author_facet Tomaselli, Giovanni Maria
Spieksma, Thomas F. M.
Bertone, Gianfranco
contents Due to superradiant instabilities, clouds of ultralight bosons can spontaneously grow around rotating black holes, creating so-called "gravitational atoms". In this work, we study their dynamical effects on binary systems. We first focus on open orbits, showing that the presence of a cloud can increase the cross section for the dynamical capture of a compact object by more than an order of magnitude. We then consider closed orbits and demonstrate that the backreaction of the cloud's ionization on the orbital motion should be identified as dynamical friction. Finally, we study for the first time eccentric and inclined orbits. We find that, while ionization quickly circularizes the binary, it barely affects the inclination angle. These results enable a more realistic description of the dynamics of gravitational atoms in binaries and pave the way for dedicated searches with future gravitational wave detectors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2305_15460
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamical Friction in Gravitational Atoms
Tomaselli, Giovanni Maria
Spieksma, Thomas F. M.
Bertone, Gianfranco
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Due to superradiant instabilities, clouds of ultralight bosons can spontaneously grow around rotating black holes, creating so-called "gravitational atoms". In this work, we study their dynamical effects on binary systems. We first focus on open orbits, showing that the presence of a cloud can increase the cross section for the dynamical capture of a compact object by more than an order of magnitude. We then consider closed orbits and demonstrate that the backreaction of the cloud's ionization on the orbital motion should be identified as dynamical friction. Finally, we study for the first time eccentric and inclined orbits. We find that, while ionization quickly circularizes the binary, it barely affects the inclination angle. These results enable a more realistic description of the dynamics of gravitational atoms in binaries and pave the way for dedicated searches with future gravitational wave detectors.
title Dynamical Friction in Gravitational Atoms
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.15460