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arXiv · 1603.01221

Inspiral into Gargantua

Samuel E. Gralla·Scott A. Hughes·Niels Warburton
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Abstract

We model the inspiral of a compact object into a more massive black hole rotating very near the theoretical maximum. We find that once the body enters the near-horizon regime the gravitational radiation is characterized by a constant frequency, equal to (twice) the horizon frequency, with an exponentially damped profile. This contrasts with the usual "chirping" behavior and, if detected, would constitute a "smoking gun" for a near-extremal black hole in nature.

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Samuel E. Gralla, Scott A. Hughes, Niels Warburton. 2016-03-03. Inspiral into Gargantua. https://doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381/33/15/155002

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