On-shell approach to black hole mergers
Abstract We develop an on-shell approach to study black hole mergers. Since, asymptotically, the initial and final states can be described by point-like spinning particles, we propose a massive three-point amplitude for the merger of two Schwarzschild black holes into a Kerr black hole. This three-p...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of High Energy Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2025)066 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832595026129977344 |
|---|---|
| author | Katsuki Aoki Andrea Cristofoli Yu-tin Huang |
| author_facet | Katsuki Aoki Andrea Cristofoli Yu-tin Huang |
| author_sort | Katsuki Aoki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We develop an on-shell approach to study black hole mergers. Since, asymptotically, the initial and final states can be described by point-like spinning particles, we propose a massive three-point amplitude for the merger of two Schwarzschild black holes into a Kerr black hole. This three-point amplitude and the spectral function of the final state are fully determined by kinematics and the model-independent input about the black hole merger which is described by a complete absorption process. Using the Kosower-Maybee-O’Connell (KMOC) formalism, we then reproduce the classical conservation laws for momentum and angular momentum after the merger. As an application, we use the proposed three-point to compute the graviton emission amplitude, from which we extract the merger waveform to all orders in spin but leading in gravitational coupling. Up to sub-subleading order in spin, this matches the classical soft graviton theorem. We conclude with a comparison to black hole perturbation theory, which gives complementary amplitudes which are non-perturbative in the gravitational coupling but to leading order in the extreme mass ratio limit. This also highlights how boundary conditions on a Schwarzschild background can be used to rederive the proposed on-shell amplitudes for merger processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1a8adb05099c4556805ec908e2897b87 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1029-8479 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of High Energy Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-1a8adb05099c4556805ec908e2897b872025-01-19T12:07:44ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-01-012025114210.1007/JHEP01(2025)066On-shell approach to black hole mergersKatsuki Aoki0Andrea Cristofoli1Yu-tin Huang2Center for Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto UniversityCenter for Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto UniversityDepartment of Physics and Center for Theoretical Physics, National Taiwan UniversityAbstract We develop an on-shell approach to study black hole mergers. Since, asymptotically, the initial and final states can be described by point-like spinning particles, we propose a massive three-point amplitude for the merger of two Schwarzschild black holes into a Kerr black hole. This three-point amplitude and the spectral function of the final state are fully determined by kinematics and the model-independent input about the black hole merger which is described by a complete absorption process. Using the Kosower-Maybee-O’Connell (KMOC) formalism, we then reproduce the classical conservation laws for momentum and angular momentum after the merger. As an application, we use the proposed three-point to compute the graviton emission amplitude, from which we extract the merger waveform to all orders in spin but leading in gravitational coupling. Up to sub-subleading order in spin, this matches the classical soft graviton theorem. We conclude with a comparison to black hole perturbation theory, which gives complementary amplitudes which are non-perturbative in the gravitational coupling but to leading order in the extreme mass ratio limit. This also highlights how boundary conditions on a Schwarzschild background can be used to rederive the proposed on-shell amplitudes for merger processes.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2025)066Scattering AmplitudesBlack HolesClassical Theories of GravityEffective Field Theories |
| spellingShingle | Katsuki Aoki Andrea Cristofoli Yu-tin Huang On-shell approach to black hole mergers Journal of High Energy Physics Scattering Amplitudes Black Holes Classical Theories of Gravity Effective Field Theories |
| title | On-shell approach to black hole mergers |
| title_full | On-shell approach to black hole mergers |
| title_fullStr | On-shell approach to black hole mergers |
| title_full_unstemmed | On-shell approach to black hole mergers |
| title_short | On-shell approach to black hole mergers |
| title_sort | on shell approach to black hole mergers |
| topic | Scattering Amplitudes Black Holes Classical Theories of Gravity Effective Field Theories |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2025)066 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katsukiaoki onshellapproachtoblackholemergers AT andreacristofoli onshellapproachtoblackholemergers AT yutinhuang onshellapproachtoblackholemergers |