Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2010-10-15
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Class. Quantum Grav. special issue: proceedings of 8th LISA Symposium
Scientific paper
During the final moments of a binary black hole (BH) merger, the gravitational wave (GW) luminosity of the system is greater than the combined electromagnetic output of the entire observable universe. However, the extremely weak coupling between GWs and ordinary matter makes these waves very difficult to detect directly. Fortunately, the inspiraling BH system will interact strongly--on a purely Newtonian level--with any surrounding material in the host galaxy, and this matter can in turn produce unique electromagnetic (EM) signals detectable at Earth. By identifying EM counterparts to GW sources, we will be able to study the host environments of the merging BHs, in turn greatly expanding the scientific yield of a mission like LISA.
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