Applications of the close-limit approximation: horizonless compact objects and scalar fields

Understand

The ability to model the evolution of compact binaries from the inspiral to coalescence is central to gravitational wave astronomy.

• Current waveform catalogues are built from vacuum binary black hole models, by evolving Einstein equations numerically and complementing them with knowledge from slow-motion expansions.
• Much less is known about the coalescence process in the presence of matter, or in theories other than General Relativity.
• Here, we explore the Close Limit Approximation as a powerful tool to understand the coalescence process in general setups.