Extreme mass ratio inspirals in dark matter halos: Dynamics and distinguishability of halo models
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The gravitational wave (GW) signals from extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), a key target for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will be affected in the presence of dark matter (DM) halos. In this paper we explore whether the effects of DM are detectable by LISA within a fully relativistic framework. We model the massive EMRI component as a nonrotating black hole (BH) surrounded by a DM halo. We compute axial and polar GW fluxes for circular orbits at linear order in the mass ratio for DM density profiles with varying mass and compactness. By comparing the phase evolution with vacuum systems, we find that DM halos can induce dephasings of tens to hundreds of radians over a one-year observation period. We demonstrate that even highly diluted DM distributions can significantly affect the emitted waveforms, and that the resulting GW signals can usually be distinguished from each other. While it is important to generalize these findings to more generic orbits and to spinning BHs, our results suggest that LISA could not only reveal the presence of DM halos, but also discriminate between different halo models.
DOI: 10.1103/dw6c-14pt
Authors: Sara Gliorio, Emanuele Berti, Andrea Maselli, Nicholas Speeney
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1702930836, G3099888664, Physics and Astrophysics of Compact Binaries, G4448422848, G4490303832, Gravitational waves for cosmology, gravity, and quantum mechanics, MRI: Acquisition of an Advanced Computing Instrument to Integrate Data-Driven Research and Data intensive computing at Johns Hopkins University, G5994749408, Collaborative Research: Understanding Compact Binary Formation With Gravitational Wave Observations, Multimessenger astronomy in the Einstein Telescope Era (METE), G7271693654
OpenAlex ID: W4417267971