6 papers
Electromagnetic alignment and jet precession around supermassive black holes: Quasi-periodic oscillations in tidal disruption events
Pau Amaro-Seoane, Leif Lui, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela +1
We evaluate quasi-periodic oscillations and jet formation in tidal disruption events using the covariant formulation of electromagnetic angular-momentum transfer. General-relativis…
Devoured by a Hairy Gargantua: Probing Massive Scalar Charges with Non-minimal Curvature Coupling with Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals
Leif Lui, Adrian Ka-Wai Chung, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela
Ultralight scalar fields nonminimally coupled to curvature can endow rotating black holes with stationary hair and alter nearby orbits. Using recently constructed hairy black-hole…
A Dark Matter Masquerade: Degeneracies in Black Hole and Accretion Inference from X-ray Reflection Measurements and Prospects for Compact Dark Matter Halo Constraints
Leif Lui, Zijian Zhang, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela
X-ray reflection spectroscopy is an established probe of black hole (BH) spin and accretion geometry, and many studies have examined its systematic uncertainties. In this work, we…
Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries
Leif Lui, Lisa V. Drummond, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela
Much like the aerodynamic deflection of a spinning curveball, a rotating secondary in an extreme-mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI) experiences Magnus and lift forces, in addition to the s…
Relativistic Tidal Dissipation and the Gravitational-wave Signal of a White Dwarf Orbiting an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole
Yang Yang, Leif Lui, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela +1
Finding intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) and measuring their masses and spins are key to understanding massive black hole formation. White dwarf (WD)-IMBH binaries provide a u…
Gravitational Wave Signatures of Quasi-Periodic Eruptions: LISA Detection Prospects for RX J1301.9+2747
Leif Lui, Alejandro Torres-Orjuela, Rudrani Kar Chowdhury +1
Quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs) are intense, recurring outbursts of X-ray radiation originating from the nuclei of distant galaxies. One of the promising models of QPE explains thes…