The Effect of Orbital Eccentricity on Gravitational Wave Background Radiation from Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Abstract

A compact binary in an eccentric orbit radiates gravitational waves (GWs) at all integer harmonics of its orbital frequency. In this study, we investigate the effect of orbital eccentricity on the expected gravitational background radiation (GWBR) from supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries in the nuclei of galaxies. For this purpose, we formulate a power spectrum of the GWBR from cosmological evolving eccentric binaries. Then, we apply this formulation to the case of the GWBR from SMBH binaries. The key to doing this is to correctly estimate the number density of coalescing SMBH binaries. In this study, we use a semi-analytic model of galaxy and SMBH formation. We find that the power spectrum of the GWBR from SMBH binaries on eccentric orbits is suppressed for frequencies $f\lesssim 1\mathrm{nHz}$ if the initial eccentricity, $e_0$, satisfies $e_0>0.2$ and the initial semi-major axis is 300 times Scwarzschild radius. Our model predicts that while the overall shape and amplitude of the power spectrum depend strongly on the processes of galaxy formation, the eccentricity of binaries can affect the shape of the power spectrum for lower frequencies, i.e., $f\lesssim 1\mathrm{nHz}$. Pulsar timing measurements, which can detect GW in this frequency range, could constrain the effect of eccentricity on the power spectrum of the GWBR from SMBH binaries.

arXiv comment16 pages, 12 figures, typos correced, matched to the published version

References in corpus (3)

• The Gravitational Wave Background from Cosmological Compact Binaries
• Mass function of dormant black holes and the evolution of the Active Galactic Nuclei
• Pulsars and Gravitational Wave Detection

Cited by in corpus (69)

• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Evidence for a Gravitational-Wave Background
• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Search for Signals from New Physics
• European Pulsar Timing Array Limits On An Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background
• The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Project
• The International Pulsar Timing Array: First Data Release
• The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: Pulsar-timing Constraints On The Stochastic Gravitational-wave Background
• The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the Gravitational Wave Background
• The NANOGrav Nine-year Data Set: Limits on the Isotropic Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background
• The Astrophysics of Nanohertz Gravitational Waves
• The Gravitational Wave Background from Massive Black Hole Binaries in Illustris: spectral features and time to detection with pulsar timing arrays
• Gravitational-wave Limits from Pulsar Timing Constrain Supermassive Black Hole Evolution
• eLISA eccentricity measurements as tracers of binary black hole formation
• Self consistent model for the evolution of eccentric massive black hole binaries in stellar environments: implications for gravitational wave observations
• Insights on the astrophysics of supermassive black hole binaries from pulsar timing observations
• TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. III: Gravitational wave simulation
• Does a 'stochastic' background of gravitational waves exist in the pulsar timing band?
• Interactions between multiple supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei: a solution to the final parsec problem
• Black Hole Mergers From Globular Clusters Observable by LISA II: Resolved Eccentric Sources and the Gravitational Wave Background
• Binary super-massive black hole environments diminish the gravitational-wave signal in the pulsar timing band
• Testing the binary hypothesis: pulsar timing constraints on supermassive black hole binary candidates
• Gravitational wave background from extreme mass ratio inspirals
• Binary Black Hole Merger in Galactic Nuclei: Post-Newtonian Simulations
• Detection of eccentric supermassive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays: Signal-to-noise ratio calculations
• Constraining the Solution to the Last Parsec Problem with Pulsar Timing
• Gravitational Waves from SMBH Binaries in Light of the NANOGrav 15-Year Data
• Efficient computation of the gravitational wave spectrum emitted by eccentric massive black hole binaries in stellar environments
• Pulsar-timing arrays, astrometry, and gravitational waves
• Gamma-ray pulsars: a gold mine
• Ripple effects & oscillations in the broad FeKa line as a probe of massive black hole mergers
• Searching for primordial black hole dark matter with pulsar timing arrays
• Pulsars as gravitational wave detectors
• Prospects for Future Binary Black Hole GW Studies in Light of PTA Measurements
• The effect of differential accretion on the Gravitational Wave Background and the present day MBH Binary population
• A synthetic model of the gravitational wave background from evolving binary compact objects
• Worldline effective field theory of inspiralling black hole binaries in presence of dark photon and axionic dark matter
• The New Numerical Galaxy Catalog (${\nu }^2$GC): An Updated Semi-analytic Model of Galaxy and AGN with Large Cosmological N-body Simulation
• Probing the assembly history and dynamical evolution of massive black hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays
• Constraints on Individual Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from Pulsar Timing Array Limits on Continuous Gravitational Waves
• The New Numerical Galaxy Catalogue (ν^2 GC): Properties of Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Host Galaxies
• The minimum and maximum gravitational-wave background from supermassive binary black holes
• Gravitational Waves from the Inspiral of Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic-scale Simulations
• Binary intermediate-mass black hole mergers in globular clusters
• Dissecting the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background with Astrometry
• Gravitational wave detection using high precision pulsar observations
• Cosmic variance in the nanohertz gravitational wave background
• Amplification of superkicks in black-hole binaries through orbital eccentricity
• Pulsar timing arrays and the challenge of massive black hole binary astrophysics
• Implications of cosmologically coupled black holes for pulsar timing arrays
• Gravitational waves from supermassive black hole binaries in ultra-luminous infrared galaxies
• Evolution of a Binary Black Hole with a Retrograde Circumbinary Accretion Disk
• Binary Pulsar J0737-3039: Evidence for a new core collapse and neutron star formation mechanism
• Eccentricity effects on the supermassive black hole gravitational wave background
• Multifractal Analysis of Pulsar Timing Residuals: Assessment of Gravitational Wave Detection
• Discovering new forces with gravitational waves from supermassive black holes
• Dark Matter Signatures of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries
• Short Gamma-Ray Bursts and Gravitational-Wave Observations from Eccentric Compact Binaries
• Distinctive GWBs from eccentric inspiraling SMBH binaries with a DM spike
• Co-evolution of supermassive black holes with galaxies from semi-analytic model: stochastic gravitational wave background and black hole clustering
• Galaxy luminosity function and its cosmological evolution: Testing a new feedback model depending on galaxy-scale dust opacity
• Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves Generated by Eccentric Neutron Star Binaries
• Reconciling PTA and JWST and preparing for LISA with POMPOCO: a Parametrisation Of the Massive black hole POpulation for Comparison to Observations
• Formation of counter-rotating and highly eccentric massive black hole binaries in galaxy mergers
• Probing the mass relation between supermassive black holes and dark matter halos at high redshifts by gravitational wave experiments
• Gravitational wave background from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals
• Probing supermassive black hole scalarization with Pulsar Timing Arrays
• High-Redshift Merger Model for Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave Background
• Detection prospects for the GW background of Galactic (sub)solar mass primordial black holes
• Capability for detection of GW190521-like binary black holes with TianQin
• Dirty waveforms: multiband harmonic content of gas-embedded gravitational wave sources