Dynamics of Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral Resonance Scenarios

Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are scenarios where a smaller body spirals into a black hole at least ten thousand times more massive. When the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) launches, it will be able to pick up the gravitational waves (GWs) coming from EMRI events where the larger body is a supermassive black hole (SMBH) [1], such as in the galactic center. However, said galactic centers are crowded, leading to perturbations of the EMRI system and, therefore, changing their emitted GWs [2]. The most significant change comes when an object further out from the inspiral enters into resonance with the smaller EMRI body [2]. Our goal with this project is to develop a method of quantifying the effects of the resonance on the inner body's orbit and creating a hierarchy of resonance activity graded by strength, expanding on prior research to generalize to non-circular orbits [3]. We do this by simulating potential orbits for both objects, identifying resonance encounters, and then determining each resonance's strength. The method is able to accurately quantify the effects of resonance on the inspiraling body's orbit, and will be used to describe dynamics near galactic centers as well as distinguish perturbations caused by resonances from perturbations caused by deviations from general relativity [4].