An observable signature of a background deviating from Kerr

Abstract

By detecting gravitational wave signals from extreme mass ratio inspiraling sources (EMRIs) we will be given the opportunity to check our theoretical expectations regarding the nature of supermassive bodies that inhabit the central regions of galaxies. We have explored some qualitatively new features that a perturbed Kerr metric induces in its geodesic orbits. Since a generic perturbed Kerr metric does not possess all the special symmetries of a Kerr metric, the geodesic equations in the former case are described by a slightly nonintegrable Hamiltonian system. According to the Poincaré-Birkhoff theorem this causes the appearance of the so-called Birkhoff chains of islands on the corresponding surfaces of section in between the anticipated KAM curves of the integrable Kerr case, whenever the intrinsic frequencies of the system are at resonance. The chains of islands are characterized by finite width, i.e. there is a finite range of initial conditions that correspond to a particular resonance and consequently to a constant rational ratio of intrinsic frequencies. Thus while the EMRI changes adiabatically by radiating energy and angular momentum, by monitoring the frequencies of a signal we can look for a transient pattern, in the form of a plateau, in the evolution of their ratio. We have shown that such a plateau is anticipated to be apparent in a quite large fraction of possible orbital characteristics if the central gravitating source is not a Kerr black hole. Moreover the plateau in the ratio of frequencies is expected to be more prominent at specific rational values that correspond to the strongest resonances. This gives a possible observational detection of such non-Kerr exotic objects.