Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon?
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Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon? / Cardoso, Vitor; Franzin, Edgardo; Pani, Paolo.
In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 116, No. 17, 171101, 27.04.2016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon?
AU - Cardoso, Vitor
AU - Franzin, Edgardo
AU - Pani, Paolo
PY - 2016/4/27
Y1 - 2016/4/27
N2 - It is commonly believed that the ringdown signal from a binary coalescence provides a conclusive proof for the formation of an event horizon after the merger. This expectation is based on the assumption that the ringdown waveform at intermediate times is dominated by the quasinormal modes of the final object. We point out that this assumption should be taken with great care, and that very compact objects with a light ring will display a similar ringdown stage, even when their quasinormal-mode spectrum is completely different from that of a black hole. In other words, universal ringdown waveforms indicate the presence of light rings, rather than of horizons. Only precision observations of the late-time ringdown signal, where the differences in the quasinormal-mode spectrum eventually show up, can be used to rule out exotic alternatives to black holes and to test quantum effects at the horizon scale.
AB - It is commonly believed that the ringdown signal from a binary coalescence provides a conclusive proof for the formation of an event horizon after the merger. This expectation is based on the assumption that the ringdown waveform at intermediate times is dominated by the quasinormal modes of the final object. We point out that this assumption should be taken with great care, and that very compact objects with a light ring will display a similar ringdown stage, even when their quasinormal-mode spectrum is completely different from that of a black hole. In other words, universal ringdown waveforms indicate the presence of light rings, rather than of horizons. Only precision observations of the late-time ringdown signal, where the differences in the quasinormal-mode spectrum eventually show up, can be used to rule out exotic alternatives to black holes and to test quantum effects at the horizon scale.
KW - QUASI-NORMAL MODES
KW - BLACK-HOLES
KW - NONRADIAL OSCILLATIONS
KW - ASTROPHYSICS
KW - STAR
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.171101
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.171101
M3 - Letter
VL - 116
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 17
M1 - 171101
ER -
ID: 299820008