articlePhysical Review LettersApr 27, 2016BRONZE OA

Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon?

VCVítor CardosoEFEdgardo FranzinPPPaolo Pani

Perimeter Institute · University of Lisbon · +3 more institutions

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Abstract

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…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Event horizon
  • Physics
  • Gravitational wave
  • Event (particle physics)
  • Gravitational-wave observatory
  • Horizon
  • Astronomy
  • Astrophysics
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