Extreme-Mass-Ratio Bursts from the Galactic Centre

Berry, C. P.L. and Gair, J. R. (2013) Extreme-Mass-Ratio Bursts from the Galactic Centre. In: 9th International LISA Symposium (LISA 2012), Paris, France, 21-25 May 2012, pp. 185-189. ISBN 9781583818169

Abstract

An extreme-mass-ratio burst (EMRB) is a gravitational wave signal emitted when a compact object passes through periapsis on a highly eccentric orbit about a much more massive body, in our case a stellar mass object about the 4.31×106 M☉ massive black hole (MBH) in the Galactic Centre. We investigate how EMRBs could constrain the parameters of the Galaxy's MBH. EMRBs should be detectable if the periapsis is rp < 65rg for a μ = 10M☉ orbiting object, where rg = GM•/c2 is the gravitational radius. The signal-to-noise ratio ρ scales like log(ρ) = -2.7 log(rp/rg) + log(μ/M☉) + 4.9. For periapses smaller than ∼ 10rg, EMRBs can be informative, providing good constraints on both the MBH's mass and spin.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gair, Dr Jonathan and Berry, Dr Christopher
• Authors: Berry, C. P.L., and Gair, J. R.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series
• ISBN: 9781583818169