arXiv subjects

Neev Khera

Publications and source records attributed to Neev Khera.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

From the Test-Mass Limit to Binary Black-Hole Waveforms in Higher-Derivative Gravity

Many higher-derivative theories predict stronger deviations from General Relativity for lower-mass black holes, while their nonlinear field equations often prevent reliable simulations of the full binary evolution. Here we develop a route from controlled black hole perturbation theory based on the modified Teukolsky formalism to comparable-mass waveforms, using parity-even cubic gravity as a representative example. We find that the tidal response of the secondary black hole enters at the same perturbative order as the direct higher-curvature correction and is therefore essential for a consistent leading-order waveform. The resulting strong-field fluxes and conservative dynamics produce an accumulated inspiral dephasing that grows toward merger. Embedding this test-mass information into an effective-one-body model, we construct inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for comparable-mass binaries and find coupling-dependent dephasing and waveform-peak shifts. Our results demonstrate how strong-field test-mass calculations can anchor waveform models for higher-derivative gravity when theory-specific numerical-relativity simulations are unavailable.

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arXiv2026

Gravitational Waves from Green's Function Decomposition for a Kerr black hole: I. Equatorial ISCO Plunge

We present a decomposition of the Kerr Green's function in the time domain, motivated by the frequency-domain split previously studied in the Schwarzschild limit. We show that the identification of a quasinormal-mode contribution, a direct part, and a late-time tail is still available, where the split times are determined by the black hole spin and positions of the emitter and receiver. We have checked this Green's function with time-domain Teukolsky numerical simulations and find excellent agreement. We also apply this decomposed Green's function in the time domain to a model problem with a test particle plunging into a Kerr black hole. The dynamically excited direct wave and quasinormal modes are obtained by convoluting the Green's function with the particle's source term, which may be viewed as the first order in mass ratio of a spinning black hole ringdown.

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arXiv2026

Modified Teukolsky Formalism for Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspirals in Higher-Derivative Gravity

In this work, we study a model problem involving a point particle spiraling into a non-rotating black hole in higher-derivative theories of gravity. In such theories, both the background spacetime and the generation and propagation of gravitational waves differ from those in General Relativity. We develop a modified Teukolsky formalism to describe gravitational waves sourced by the point particle and, as an illustrative example, compute the resulting fluxes to the black hole horizon and null infinity for a cubic gravity theory. The formalism is constructed in a way that can be naturally extended to rotating black holes. These results represent essential steps to build extreme mass-ratio-inspiral waveforms in modified gravity theories, which may also be rescaled to approximate waveforms from comparable-mass binary black hole systems, analogous to existing approaches in General Relativity.

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arXiv2026

Decomposition of Schwarzschild Green's Function

We present a formulation of the spherically decomposed Green's function for a Schwarzschild black hole, based on a decomposition into two components, $G^+$ and $G^-$, based on their large-frequency behaviour. While similar decompositions have been considered previously, here we systematically apply it to Schwarzschild spacetime and analyze its implications for the analytic structure of the Green's function in the complex-frequency plane. We show that both $G^+$ and $G^-$ possess branch cuts along the imaginary axis, which give rise to the direct part and the late-time tail, while the poles of $G^+$ correspond to the quasinormal mode spectrum. This allows us to identify a $\textit{branch-cut direct part}$, a quasinormal-mode contribution, and a late-time tail through contours adapted to different causal spacetime regions. This is in sharp contrast to Leaver's original formulation, where the prompt response is tied to a technically difficult large-arc contribution. We validate our decomposition with independent time-domain Regge-Wheeler simulations finding excellent agreement. Our results provide a practical and physically transparent framework for disentangling the distinct pieces of the Schwarzschild response, and offer a natural starting point for extensions to Kerr perturbations and non-linear ringdown physics.

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arXiv2026

A nonlinear voice from GW250114 ringdown

The detection of quadratic quasi-normal modes would provide a direct probe into black hole nonlinear perturbations. We report the first observational evidence of a set of quadratic quasi-normal modes in the gravitational-wave ringdown of a binary black hole merger. Analyzing the signal from GW250114, we detect six nonlinear modes from the quadratic coupling of the fundamental $(2,2,0)$ mode and its first two overtones. At 5 final mass ($M_\mathrm{f}$) after the merger, the evidence for these nonlinear modes reaches a Bayes factor of 74. To single out these contributions, we employ recent theoretical progress to compute the waveforms and subtract the corresponding nonlinear modes from a numerical relativity surrogate waveform. Our data analysis uses a novel method that incorporates inspiral-merger inference results as a highly constraining prior for the ringdown inference. We further perform a test allowing for phenomenological deviations for the theoretically predicted amplitudes of the quadratic modes. The results show that an amplitude of zero is excluded at $3.0~\sigma$ significance level, while the theoretical expectation is consistent with the inference. This detection marks a first step towards observationally characterizing nonlinear perturbations in the ringdown of a black hole.

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arXiv2025

From spatial to null infinity: Connecting initial data to peeling

The asymptotic structure of space-time is studied by imposing conditions on the asymptotics of the metric. These conditions are weak enough to include large classes of physically relevant isolated space-times, but have a rich enough structure to be able to define important physically meaningful quantities like mass, angular momentum, and gravitational waves. By using a unified expansion of the metric in a neighborhood of spatial infinity that includes a piece of null infinity, we connect the asymptotic expansions of solutions to Einstein's equations in the different asymptotic regimes. Within the class of space-times under consideration, we find a connection between the peeling properties of the Weyl scalars and symmetries of initial data near spatial infinity. In particular, we show that for initial data that to leading order is symmetric under parity + time reversal, $\Psi_2$ has the usual $1/r^3$ fall-off rate at null infinity. If, in addition, the subleading part of the data is antisymmetric under parity + time reversal, then $\Psi_1$ has the usual $1/r^4$ fall-off rate at future null infinity.

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arXiv2024

Quadratic Mode Couplings in Rotating Black Holes and Their Detectability

Quadratic quasinormal modes encode fundamental properties of black hole spacetimes. They are also one of the key ingredients of nonlinearities of General Relativity in the ringdown stage of binary black hole coalescence. In this work, we classify all possible quadratic coupling channels of quasinormal modes for a generic Kerr black hole, and use a frequency-domain pseudospectral code with hyperboloidal slicing to calculate these couplings. After accounting for all the channels in systems with reflection symmetry, our results become consistent with those extracted from numerical simulations and time-domain fits. This agreement provides a compelling example demonstrating the success of black hole second-order perturbation theory. We also explore potential applications of our calculations in future ringdown data analysis by carrying out a detectability survey for various quadratic modes. We find that a few of them are observationally relevant for third-generation ground-based detectors like Cosmic Explorer, as well as the space-borne detector LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna).

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arXiv2024

Unified Treatment of Null and Spatial Infinity III: Asymptotically Minkowski Space-times

The Spi framework provides a 4-dimensional approach to investigate the asymptotic properties of gravitational fields as one recedes from isolated systems in any space-like direction, without reference to a Cauchy surface. It is well suited to unify descriptions at null and spatial infinity because $\mathscr{I}$ arises as the null cone of $i^\circ$. The goal of this work is to complete this task by introducing a natural extension of the asymptotic conditions at null and spatial infinity, by 'gluing' the two descriptions appropriately. Space-times satisfying these conditions are asymptotically flat in both regimes and thus represent isolated gravitating systems. They will be said to be Asymptotically Minkowskian at $i^\circ$. We show that in these space-times the Spi group $\mathfrak{S}$ as well as the BMS group $\mathcal{B}$ naturally reduce to a single Poincaré group, denoted by $\mathfrak{p}_{i^\circ}$ to highlight the fact that it arises from the gluing procedure at $i^\circ$. The asymptotic conditions are sufficiently weak to allow for the possibility that the Newman-Penrose component $Ψ^\circ_1$ diverges in the distant past along $\mathscr{I}^+$. This can occur in astrophysical sources that are not asymptotically stationary in the past, e.g. in scattering situations. Nonetheless, as we show in the companion paper, the energy momentum and angular momentum defined at $i^\circ$ equals the sum of that defined at a cross-section $S$ of $\mathscr{I}^+$ and corresponding flux across $\mathscr{I}^+$ to the past of $S$, when the quantities refer to the preferred Poincaré subgroup $\mathfrak{p}_{i^\circ}$.

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arXiv2024

Nonlinear ringdown at the black hole horizon

The gravitational waves emitted by a perturbed black hole ringing down are well described by damped sinusoids, whose frequencies are those of quasinormal modes. Typically, first-order black hole perturbation theory is used to calculate these frequencies. Recently, it was shown that second-order effects are necessary in binary black hole merger simulations to model the gravitational-wave signal observed by a distant observer. Here, we show that the horizon of a newly formed black hole after the head-on collision of two black holes also shows evidence of non-linear modes. Specifically, we identify one quadratic mode for the $l=2$ shear data, and two quadratic ones for the $l=4,6$ data in simulations with varying mass ratio and boost parameter. The quadratic mode amplitudes display a quadratic relationship with the amplitudes of the linear modes that generate them.

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arXiv2023

Unified Treatment of null and Spatial Infinity IV: Angular Momentum at Null and Spatial Infinity

In a companion paper we introduced the notion of asymptotically Minkowski spacetimes. These space-times are asymptotically flat at both null and spatial infinity, and furthermore there is a harmonious matching of limits of certain fields as one approaches $i^\circ$ in null and space-like directions. These matching conditions are quite weak but suffice to reduce the asymptotic symmetry group to a Poincaré group $\mathfrak{p}_{i^\circ}$. Restriction of $\mathfrak{p}_{i^\circ}$ to future null infinity $\mathscr{I}^{+}$ yields the canonical Poincaré subgroup $\mathfrak{p}^{\rm bms}_{i^\circ}$ of the BMS group $\mathfrak{B}$ selected in the companion paper and its restriction to spatial infinity $i^\circ$ gives the canonical subgroup $\mathfrak{p}^{\rm spi}_{i^\circ}$ of the Spi group $\mathfrak{S}$ there. As a result, one can meaningfully compare angular momentum that has been defined at $i^\circ$ using $\mathfrak{p}^{\rm spi}_{i^\circ}$ with that defined on $\mathscr{I}^{+}$ using $\mathfrak{p}^{\rm bms}_{i^\circ}$. We show that the angular momentum charge at $i^\circ$ equals the sum of the angular momentum charge at any 2-sphere cross-section $S$ of $\mathscr{I}^{+}$ and the total flux of angular momentum radiated across the portion of $\mathscr{I}^{+}$ to the past of $S$. In general the balance law holds only when angular momentum refers to ${\rm SO(3)}$ subgroups of the Poincaré group $\mathfrak{p}_{i^\circ}$.

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arXiv2022

Multipole moments on the common horizon in a binary-black-hole simulation

We construct the covariantly defined multipole moments on the common horizon of an equal-mass, non-spinning, quasicircular binary-black-hole system. We see a strong correlation between these multipole moments and the gravitational waveform. We find that the multipole moments are well described by the fundamental quasinormal modes at sufficiently late times. For each multipole moment, at least two fundamental modes of different $\ell$ are detectable in the best model. These models provide faithful estimates of the true mass and spin of the remnant black hole. We also show that by including overtones, the $\ell=m=2$ mass multipole moment admits an excellent quasinormal-mode description at all times after the merger. This demonstrates the perhaps surprising power of perturbation theory near the merger.

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arXiv2022

Non-Expanding horizons: Multipoles and the Symmetry Group

It is well-known that blackhole and cosmological horizons in equilibrium situations are well-modeled by non-expanding horizons (NEHs). In the first part of the paper we introduce multipole moments to characterize their geometry, removing the restriction to axisymmetric situations made in the existing literature. We then show that the symmetry group $\mathfrak{G}$ of NEHs is a 1-dimensional extension of the BMS group $\mathfrak{B}$. These symmetries are used in a companion paper to define charges and fluxes on NHEs, as well as perturbed NEHs. They have physically attractive properties. Finally, it is generally not appreciated that $\mathcal{I}^\pm$ of asymptotically flat space-times are NEHs in the conformally completed space-time. Forthcoming papers will (i) show that $\mathcal{I}^\pm$ have a small additional structure that reduces $\mathfrak{G}$ to the BMS group $\mathfrak{B}$, and the BMS charges and fluxes can be recovered from the NEH framework; and, (ii) develop gravitational wave tomography for the late stage of compact binary coalescences: reading-off the dynamics of perturbed NEHs in the strong field regime (via evolution of their multipoles), from the waveform at $\mathcal{I}^+$.

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arXiv2022

High Precision Ringdown Modeling: Multimode Fits and BMS Frames

Quasi-normal mode (QNM) modeling is an invaluable tool for characterizing remnant black holes, studying strong gravity, and testing GR. Only recently have QNM studies begun to focus on multimode fitting to numerical relativity (NR) strain waveforms. As GW observatories become even more sensitive they will be able to resolve higher-order modes. Consequently, multimode QNM fits will be critically important, and in turn require a more thorough treatment of the asymptotic frame at $\mathscr{I}^+$. The first main result of this work is a method for systematically fitting a QNM model containing many modes to a numerical waveform produced using Cauchy-characteristic extraction (CCE), an extraction technique which is known to resolve memory effects. We choose the modes to model based on their power contribution to the residual between numerical and model waveforms. We show that the all-mode strain mismatch improves by a factor of $\sim10^5$ when using multimode fitting as opposed to only fitting the $(2,\pm2,n)$ modes. Our most significant result addresses a critical point that has been overlooked in the QNM literature: the importance of matching the Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) frame of the numerical waveform to that of the QNM model. We show that by mapping the numerical waveforms$-$which exhibit the memory effect$-$to a BMS frame known as the super rest frame, there is an improvement of $\sim10^5$ in the all-mode strain mismatch compared to using a strain waveform whose BMS frame is not fixed. Furthermore, we find that by mapping CCE waveforms to the super rest frame, we can obtain all-mode mismatches that are, on average, a factor of $\sim4$ better than using the publicly-available extrapolated waveforms. We illustrate the effectiveness of these modeling enhancements by applying them to families of waveforms produced by NR and comparing our results to previous QNM studies.

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arXiv2022

Fixing the BMS Frame of Numerical Relativity Waveforms

Understanding the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) frame of the gravitational waves produced by numerical relativity is crucial for ensuring that analyses on such waveforms are performed properly. It is also important that models are built from waveforms in the same BMS frame. Up until now, however, the BMS frame of numerical waveforms has not been thoroughly examined, largely because the necessary tools have not existed. In this paper, we show how to analyze and map to a suitable BMS frame for numerical waveforms calculated with the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC). However, the methods and tools that we present are general and can be applied to any numerical waveforms. We present an extensive study of 13 binary black hole systems that broadly span parameter space. From these simulations, we extract the strain and also the Weyl scalars using both SpECTRE's Cauchy-characteristic extraction module and also the standard extrapolation procedure with a displacement memory correction applied during postprocessing. First, we show that the current center-of-mass correction used to map these waveforms to the center-of-mass frame is not as effective as previously thought. Consequently, we also develop an improved correction that utilizes asymptotic Poincaré charges instead of a Newtonian center-of-mass trajectory. Next, we map our waveforms to the post-Newtonian (PN) BMS frame using a PN strain waveform. This helps us find the unique BMS transformation that minimizes the $L^{2}$ norm of the difference between the numerical and PN strain waveforms during the early inspiral phase. We find that once the waveforms are mapped to the PN BMS frame, they can be hybridized with a PN strain waveform much more effectively than if one used any of the previous alignment schemes, which only utilize the Poincaré transformations.

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arXiv2022

Charges and Fluxes on (Perturbed) Non-expanding Horizons

In a companion paper we showed that the symmetry group $\mathfrak{G}$ of non-expanding horizons (NEHs) is a 1-dimensional extension of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs group $\mathfrak{G}$ at $\mathcal{I}^{+}$. For each infinitesimal generator of $\mathfrak{G}$, we now define a charge and a flux on NEHs as well as perturbed NEHs. The procedure uses the covariant phase space framework in presence of internal null boundaries $\mathcal{N}$. However, $\mathcal{N}$ is required to be an NEH or a perturbed NEH. Consequently, charges and fluxes associated with generators of $\mathfrak{G}$ are free of physically unsatisfactory features that can arise if $\mathcal{N}$ is allowed to be a general null boundary. In particular, all fluxes vanish if $\mathcal{N}$ is an NEH, just as one would hope; and fluxes associated with symmetries representing `time-translations' are positive definite on perturbed NEHs. These results hold for zero as well as non-zero cosmological constant. In the asymptotically flat case, as noted in \cite{akkl1}, $\mathcal{I}^\pm$ are NEHs in the conformally completed space-time but with an extra structure that reduces $\mathfrak{G}$ to $\mathfrak{B}$. The flux expressions at $\mathcal{N}$ reflect this synergy between NEHs and $\mathcal{I}^{+}$. In a forthcoming paper, this close relation between NEHs and $\mathcal{I}^{+}$ will be used to develop gravitational wave tomography, enabling one to deduce horizon dynamics directly from the waveforms at $\mathcal{I}^{+}$.

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arXiv2021

Testing gravitational waveform models using angular momentum

The anticipated enhancements in detector sensitivity and the corresponding increase in the number of gravitational wave detections will make it possible to estimate parameters of compact binaries with greater accuracy assuming general relativity(GR), and also to carry out sharper tests of GR itself. Crucial to these procedures are accurate gravitational waveform models. The systematic errors of the models must stay below statistical errors to prevent biases in parameter estimation and to carry out meaningful tests of GR. Comparisons of the models against numerical relativity (NR) waveforms provide an excellent measure of systematic errors. A complementary approach is to use balance laws provided by Einstein's equations to measure faithfulness of a candidate waveform against exact GR. Each balance law focuses on a physical observable and measures the accuracy of the candidate waveform vis a vis that observable. Therefore, this analysis can provide new physical insights into sources of errors. In this paper we focus on the angular momentum balance law, using post-Newtonian theory to calculate the initial angular momentum, surrogate fits to obtain the remnant spin and waveforms from models to calculate the flux. The consistency check provided by the angular momentum balance law brings out the marked improvement in the passage from \texttt{IMRPhenomPv2} to \texttt{IMRPhenomXPHM} and from \texttt{SEOBNRv3} to \texttt{SEOBNRv4PHM} and shows that the most recent versions agree quite well with exact GR. For precessing systems, on the other hand, we find that there is room for further improvement, especially for the Phenom models.

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arXiv2021

Comparing Remnant Properties from Horizon Data and Asymptotic Data in Numerical Relativity

We present a new study of remnant black hole properties from 13 binary black hole systems, numerically evolved using the Spectral Einstein Code. The mass, spin, and recoil velocity of each remnant were determined quasi-locally from apparent horizon data and asymptotically from Bondi data $(h, ψ_4, ψ_3, ψ_2, ψ_1)$ computed at future null infinity using SpECTRE's Cauchy characteristic evolution. We compare these independent measurements of the remnant properties in the bulk and on the boundary of the spacetime, giving insight into how well asymptotic data are able to reproduce local properties of the remnant black hole in numerical relativity. We also discuss the theoretical framework for connecting horizon quantities to asymptotic quantities and how it relates to our results. This study recommends a simple improvement to the recoil velocities reported in the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes waveform catalog, provides an improvement to future surrogate remnant models, and offers new analysis techniques for evaluating the physical accuracy of numerical simulations.

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arXiv2021

Adding Gravitational Memory to Waveform Catalogs using BMS Balance Laws

Accurate models of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes are crucial for detectors to measure events and extract new science. One important feature that is currently missing from the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration's catalog of waveforms for merging black holes, and other waveform catalogs, is the gravitational memory effect: a persistent, physical change to spacetime that is induced by the passage of transient radiation. We find, however, that by exploiting the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) balance laws, which come from the extended BMS transformations, we can correct the strain waveforms in the SXS catalog to include the missing displacement memory. Our results show that these corrected waveforms satisfy the BMS balance laws to a much higher degree of accuracy. Furthermore, we find that these corrected strain waveforms coincide especially well with the waveforms obtained from Cauchy-characteristic extraction (CCE) that already exhibit memory effects. These corrected strain waveforms also evade the transient junk effects that are currently present in CCE waveforms. Lastly, we make our code for computing these contributions to the BMS balance laws and memory publicly available as a part of the python package $\texttt{sxs}$, thus enabling anyone to evaluate the expected memory effects and violation of the BMS balance laws.

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