Work

Gravitational wave signals from primordial black holes orbiting solar-type stars

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses between $10^{14}$ and $10^{20}$ kg are candidates to contribute a substantial fraction of the total dark matter abundance. When in orbit around the center of a star, which can possibly be a completely interior orbit, such objects would emit gravitational waves, as predicted by general relativity. In this work, we examine the gravitational wave signals emitted by such objects when they orbit typical stars, such as the Sun. We show that the magnitude of the waves that could eventually be detected on Earth from a possible PBH orbiting the Sun or a neighboring Sun-like star within our galaxy can be significantly stronger than those originating from a PBH orbiting a denser but more distant neutron star (NS). Such signals may be detectable by the LISA gravitational-wave detector. In addition, we estimate the contribution that a large collection of such PBH-star systems would make to the stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) within a range of frequencies to which pulsar timing arrays are sensitive.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4414628490
FWCI: 2.274
Cites: 42
Cited by: 5
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