Evolution of binary black holes in AGN accretion discs: Disc-binary interaction and gravitational wave emission

Understand

Binary black hole (BBH) mergers are the primary sources of gravitational wave (GW) events detected by LIGO/Virgo.

• Binary black holes embedded in the accretion discs of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are possible candidates for such GW events.
• We develop an idealised analytic model for the orbital evolution of BBHs in AGN accretion discs by combining the evolution equations of disc-binary interaction and GW inspiral.
• We investigate the coupled `disc+GW'-driven evolution of BBHs transitioning from the disc-driven regime at large orbital separations into the GW-driven regime at small separations.