Gravitational Waves, Radiation Reaction, and Black Hole Systems

Gravitational waves are ripples in the very fabric of spacetime. The emission of gravitational waves from black holes will be investigated. Black holes are, perhaps, the most unusual objects in the known astrophysical universe. A close binary system of black holes (or neutron stars) emits gravitational waves and loses energy while the holes orbit each other and slowly spiral inwards. The seemingly random trajectory of a star in an highly eccentric orbit about a supermassive black hole can actually be followed for thousands of orbits by use of careful theoretical analysis. The details of the emitted gravitational waves in such systems will be determined theoretically, based upon our best understanding of gravity and astrophysics.

Detailed knowledge of the features of the gravitational waves emitted during many orbits of a black hole binary system greatly aids the ongoing experimental effort to observe gravitational waves. Equally importantly, this knowledge also allows interpretation of the observations, once they are made, and provides a probe into the strongest gravitational fields imaginable with unprecedented information about dramatic astrophysical systems, and the theory of gravity. Further, the detection of gravitational waves from black hole binary systems will open a new window on the universe, stir up interest for students in all areas of science and mathematics and capture the imagination of every citizen.