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Characterizing LISA-band gravitational-wave signals from eccentric compact binaries orbiting a supermassive black hole

ORAL

Abstract

Compact binaries situated in galactic nuclei may be gravitationally perturbed by the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) of the host galaxy. The interaction between the inner compact binary and the outer SMBH can induce eccentricity oscillations in the former through the eccentric Kozai-Lidov mechanism. During periods of high eccentricity, these binaries emit a broadband gravitational-wave (GW) spectrum detectable by LISA, with signal-to-noise ratios potentially in excess of 100. The time-domain GW signal from these systems consists of a series of repeated bursts associated with individual periastron passages, with additional amplitude modulations due to SMBH-induced changes in the orientation of the inner binary. We present preliminary results from a study aimed at characterizing these repeating signals after propagating them through to the LISA time-delay interferometry strain channels. We further explore search methods for identifying these systems in the presence of other astrophysical GW sources and non-astrophysical glitches included in the Spritz edition of the LISA data challenges.

Presenters

  • Alan M Knee

    University of British Columbia

Authors

  • Alan M Knee

    University of British Columbia

  • Jessica McIver

    University of British Columbia

  • Smadar Naoz

    UCLA

  • Bao-Minh Hoang

    UCLA

  • Isobel M Romero-Shaw

    University of Cambridge, Cambridge University