Precessional Instability in Binary Black Holes with Aligned Spins.

Binary black holes on quasicircular orbits with spins aligned with their orbital angular momentum have been test beds for analytic and numerical relativity for decades, not least because symmetry ensures that such configurations are equilibrium solutions to the spin-precession equations. In this work, we show that these solutions can be unstable when the spin of the higher-mass black hole is aligned with the orbital angular momentum and the spin of the lower-mass black hole is antialigned. Spins in these configurations are unstable to precession to large misalignment when the binary separation r is between the values r(ud±)=(√(χ(1))±√(qχ(2)))(4)(1-q)(-2)M, where M is the total mass, q≡m(2)/m(1) is the mass ratio, and χ(1) (χ(2)) is the dimensionless spin of the more (less) massive black hole.

Effective potentials and morphological transitions for binary black hole spin precession.

We derive an effective potential for binary black hole (BBH) spin precession at second post-Newtonian order. This effective potential allows us to solve the orbit-averaged spin-precession equations analytically for arbitrary mass ratios and spins. These solutions are quasiperiodic functions of time: after a fixed period, the BBH spins return to their initial relative orientations and jointly precess about the total angular momentum by a fixed angle.

Transient solar oscillations driven by primordial black holes.

Stars are transparent to the passage of primordial black holes (PBHs) and serve as seismic detectors for such objects. The gravitational field of a PBH squeezes a star and causes it to ring acoustically. We calculate the seismic signature of a PBH passing through the Sun.

Binary-black-hole merger: symmetry and the spin expansion.

We regard binary-black-hole (BBH) merger as a map from a simple initial state (two Kerr black holes, with dimensionless spins a and b) to a simple final state (a Kerr black hole with mass m, dimensionless spin s, and kick velocity k). By expanding this map around a=b=0 and applying symmetry constraints, we obtain a simple formalism that is remarkably successful at explaining existing BBH simulations. It also makes detailed predictions and suggests a more efficient way of mapping the parameter space of binary black-hole merger.

Galilean equivalence for galactic dark matter.

Satellite galaxies are tidally disrupted as they orbit the Milky Way. If dark matter (DM) experiences a stronger self-attraction than baryons, stars will preferentially gain rather than lose energy during tidal disruption, leading to an enhancement in the trailing compared to the leading tidal stream. The Sgr dwarf galaxy is seen to have roughly equal streams, challenging models in which DM and baryons accelerate differently by more than 10%.

Can cosmic shear shed light on low cosmic microwave background multipoles?

The lowest multipole moments of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are smaller than expected for a scale-invariant power spectrum. One possible explanation is a cutoff in the primordial power spectrum below a comoving scale of k(c) approximately equal to 5.0 x 10(-4) Mpc(-1).

Separation of gravitational-wave and cosmic-shear contributions to cosmic microwave background polarization.

Inflationary gravitational waves (GW) contribute to the curl component in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Cosmic shear--gravitational lensing of the CMB--converts a fraction of the dominant gradient polarization to the curl component. Higher-order correlations can be used to map the cosmic shear and subtract this contribution to the curl.