Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries
Fuente:
arXiv
Gespeichert in:
| Hauptverfasser: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2026
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
| _version_ | 1866911739210104832 |
|---|---|
| author | Lui, Leif Drummond, Lisa V. Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro |
| author_facet | Lui, Leif Drummond, Lisa V. Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro |
| contents | Much like the aerodynamic deflection of a spinning curveball, a rotating secondary in an extreme-mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI) experiences Magnus and lift forces, in addition to the standard drag force, when traversing a gaseous environment. We present the first framework that incorporates these specific spin-coupled environmental effects (EEs) into the evolution of EMRI. Over the multi-year observation windows of space-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, these interactions imprint a unique, distinguishable dephasing signature on the signal. Crucially, a Fisher matrix analysis reveals that gas drag breaks the fundamental vacuum-projection degeneracy between the secondary's spin magnitude and inclination, thereby tightening parameter constraints. Thus, accounting for EEs is not merely a modeling necessity, but a powerful tool for enhancing the detectability of the secondary's intrinsic spin, and could serve as a novel probe of accretion flows harboring massive black holes. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2606_01569 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries Lui, Leif Drummond, Lisa V. Torres-Orjuela, Alejandro General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Much like the aerodynamic deflection of a spinning curveball, a rotating secondary in an extreme-mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI) experiences Magnus and lift forces, in addition to the standard drag force, when traversing a gaseous environment. We present the first framework that incorporates these specific spin-coupled environmental effects (EEs) into the evolution of EMRI. Over the multi-year observation windows of space-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, these interactions imprint a unique, distinguishable dephasing signature on the signal. Crucially, a Fisher matrix analysis reveals that gas drag breaks the fundamental vacuum-projection degeneracy between the secondary's spin magnitude and inclination, thereby tightening parameter constraints. Thus, accounting for EEs is not merely a modeling necessity, but a powerful tool for enhancing the detectability of the secondary's intrinsic spin, and could serve as a novel probe of accretion flows harboring massive black holes. |
| title | Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries |
| topic | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01569 |