Gravitational emissions and light curves of quasi-periodic orbits in Schwarzschild spacetime embedded in a Dehnen-type dark matter halo

Abstract

Timelike orbits in curved spacetimes encode intrinsic information about the background geometry and serve as critical probes for investigating gravitational theories and source distributions. In this study, we investigate strictly closed timelike orbits within a Schwarzschild spacetime embedded in a Dehnen-type dark matter halo. By solving the geodesic equations, we identify various configurations of these closed orbits and simulate their corresponding gravitational waves and electromagnetic light curves. Our findings reveal that the morphology of closed orbits is primarily governed by the ratio of the azimuthal period to the radial period. Notably, dark matter halo parameters such as the core scale and density parameters exert a significant amplification effect on the orbital scale, which further induces a discernible phase lag in the gravitational wave signals. Furthermore, within a specific parameter space, we discover a linear relationship between the number of peaks in the light curves and the number of orbital leaves. From a theoretical perspective, these findings reveal the multimessenger signatures of closed orbits, which may provide a potential theoretical foundation for establishing a connection between orbital dynamics and the surrounding dark matter environment.

19 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of High Energy Astrophysics