Trails of clouds in binary black holes

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Bošković, Mateja, Porto, Rafael A., Koschnitzke, Matthias
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866917158166986752
author Bošković, Mateja
Porto, Rafael A.
Koschnitzke, Matthias
author_facet Bošković, Mateja
Porto, Rafael A.
Koschnitzke, Matthias
contents Superradiant instabilities of rotating black holes can give rise to long-lived bosonic clouds, offering natural laboratories to probe ultralight particles across a wide range of parameter space. The presence of a companion can dramatically impact both the cloud's evolution and the binary's orbital dynamics, generating a trail of feedback effects that require detailed modelling. Using a worldline effective field theory approach, we develop a systematic framework for binaries on generic (eccentric and inclined) orbits, capturing both resonant and non-resonant transitions without relying solely on balance laws. We demonstrate the existence of ``co-rotating'' floating orbits that can deplete the cloud prior to entering the detector's band, triggering eccentricity growth towards a sequence of fixed points. Likewise, we show that ``counter-rotating'' orbits can also deplete the cloud, driving (unbounded) growth of eccentricity. Furthermore, we uncover novel features tied to orbital inclination. Depending on the mass ratio, equatorial orbits can become unstable, and fixed points may arise not only for aligned or anti-aligned configurations but, strikingly, also at intermediate inclinations. We derive flow equations governing spin-orbit misalignment and eccentricity and identify distinctive signatures that can reveal the presence of boson clouds in the binary's history, as well as key features of possible in-band transitions. These results refine and extend earlier work, yielding a more faithful description of the imprints of ultralight particles in gravitational-wave signals from binary black holes, signatures that are within reach of future detectors such as LISA, Cosmic Explorer, and the Einstein~Telescope.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17887
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Trails of clouds in binary black holes
Bošković, Mateja
Porto, Rafael A.
Koschnitzke, Matthias
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Superradiant instabilities of rotating black holes can give rise to long-lived bosonic clouds, offering natural laboratories to probe ultralight particles across a wide range of parameter space. The presence of a companion can dramatically impact both the cloud's evolution and the binary's orbital dynamics, generating a trail of feedback effects that require detailed modelling. Using a worldline effective field theory approach, we develop a systematic framework for binaries on generic (eccentric and inclined) orbits, capturing both resonant and non-resonant transitions without relying solely on balance laws. We demonstrate the existence of ``co-rotating'' floating orbits that can deplete the cloud prior to entering the detector's band, triggering eccentricity growth towards a sequence of fixed points. Likewise, we show that ``counter-rotating'' orbits can also deplete the cloud, driving (unbounded) growth of eccentricity. Furthermore, we uncover novel features tied to orbital inclination. Depending on the mass ratio, equatorial orbits can become unstable, and fixed points may arise not only for aligned or anti-aligned configurations but, strikingly, also at intermediate inclinations. We derive flow equations governing spin-orbit misalignment and eccentricity and identify distinctive signatures that can reveal the presence of boson clouds in the binary's history, as well as key features of possible in-band transitions. These results refine and extend earlier work, yielding a more faithful description of the imprints of ultralight particles in gravitational-wave signals from binary black holes, signatures that are within reach of future detectors such as LISA, Cosmic Explorer, and the Einstein~Telescope.
title Trails of clouds in binary black holes
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17887