Quantifying the Scientific Potential of Intermediate and Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Speri, Lorenzo, Duque, Francisco, Barsanti, Susanna, Santini, Alessandro, Kejriwal, Shubham, Burke, Ollie, Chapman-Bird, Christian E. A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866917351095533568
author Speri, Lorenzo
Duque, Francisco
Barsanti, Susanna
Santini, Alessandro
Kejriwal, Shubham
Burke, Ollie
Chapman-Bird, Christian E. A.
author_facet Speri, Lorenzo
Duque, Francisco
Barsanti, Susanna
Santini, Alessandro
Kejriwal, Shubham
Burke, Ollie
Chapman-Bird, Christian E. A.
contents The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will enable precision studies of Extreme and Intermediate Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs/IMRIs), providing unique probes of astrophysical environments of galactic nuclei and strong-field gravity. Using a fully relativistic pipeline across primary masses $m_1 \in [5\times10^4, 10^7]\,M_\odot$ and secondary masses $m_2 \in [1, 10^4]\,M_\odot$, we map instrumental performance directly to detection horizons and parameter measurement precision. EMRIs with $m_1 = 10^7\,M_\odot$ and $m_2 \sim 1\,M_\odot$ are the most sensitive to instrument degradation, with redshift horizons at $z \sim 0.01$, while IMRIs are the least sensitive to degradation and reach redshifts $z \sim 1-3$. All prograde systems considered achieve sub-percent spin precision within three months of observation. The full 4.5-year mission increases the horizon of systems with $m_1 = 10^7\,M_\odot$ and $m_2 \sim 1\,M_\odot$ by a factor of $\sim 4$ and improves sky localization by one to two orders of magnitude reaching $ < 10\,\mathrm{deg}^2$. IMRI detection is robust against degradation, but their parameter estimation is more vulnerable due to fewer cycles in band. With the full baseline, EMRI observations constrain scalar dipole emission and Kerr quadrupole deviations below ground-based bounds by one to two orders of magnitude. We release the accompanying software and an interactive website to enable the community to rapidly quantify the scientific potential of EMRIs and IMRIs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_17072
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantifying the Scientific Potential of Intermediate and Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
Speri, Lorenzo
Duque, Francisco
Barsanti, Susanna
Santini, Alessandro
Kejriwal, Shubham
Burke, Ollie
Chapman-Bird, Christian E. A.
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will enable precision studies of Extreme and Intermediate Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs/IMRIs), providing unique probes of astrophysical environments of galactic nuclei and strong-field gravity. Using a fully relativistic pipeline across primary masses $m_1 \in [5\times10^4, 10^7]\,M_\odot$ and secondary masses $m_2 \in [1, 10^4]\,M_\odot$, we map instrumental performance directly to detection horizons and parameter measurement precision. EMRIs with $m_1 = 10^7\,M_\odot$ and $m_2 \sim 1\,M_\odot$ are the most sensitive to instrument degradation, with redshift horizons at $z \sim 0.01$, while IMRIs are the least sensitive to degradation and reach redshifts $z \sim 1-3$. All prograde systems considered achieve sub-percent spin precision within three months of observation. The full 4.5-year mission increases the horizon of systems with $m_1 = 10^7\,M_\odot$ and $m_2 \sim 1\,M_\odot$ by a factor of $\sim 4$ and improves sky localization by one to two orders of magnitude reaching $ < 10\,\mathrm{deg}^2$. IMRI detection is robust against degradation, but their parameter estimation is more vulnerable due to fewer cycles in band. With the full baseline, EMRI observations constrain scalar dipole emission and Kerr quadrupole deviations below ground-based bounds by one to two orders of magnitude. We release the accompanying software and an interactive website to enable the community to rapidly quantify the scientific potential of EMRIs and IMRIs.
title Quantifying the Scientific Potential of Intermediate and Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17072