Strong-gravity precession resonances for binary systems orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole

Binary systems of compact objects in close orbit around a supermassive black hole (SMBH) may form in galactic nuclei, providing a unique environment to probe strong-gravity tidal effects on the binary's dynamics. In this work, we investigate precession resonances arising between the periastron precession frequency of a binary system and its orbital frequencies around the SMBH. By modeling the SMBH as a Schwarzschild black hole, we find that relativistic effects in the tidal field give rise to a significantly richer resonance spectrum compared to the Newtonian case. This result is supported by both perturbative and numerical analyses of the quadrupolar tidal interaction in the strong-gravity regime. Our results reveal new signatures for strong-gravity effects in such triple systems, with potential implications for gravitational-wave astronomy.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2025-07-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/l542-s32g
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.62

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article

Strong-gravity precession resonances for binary systems orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole

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4 citations
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
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article

Strong-gravity precession resonances for binary systems orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole

Marta Orselli, Daniele Pica, Troels Harmark, G. Grignani, Marta Cocco
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Binary systems of compact objects in close orbit around a supermassive black hole (SMBH) may form in galactic nuclei, providing a unique environment to probe strong-gravity tidal effects on the binary's dynamics. In this work, we investigate precession resonances arising between the periastron precession frequency of a binary system and its orbital frequencies around the SMBH. By modeling the SMBH as a Schwarzschild black hole, we find that relativistic effects in the tidal field give rise to a significantly richer resonance spectrum compared to the Newtonian case. This result is supported by both perturbative and numerical analyses of the quadrupolar tidal interaction in the strong-gravity regime. Our results reveal new signatures for strong-gravity effects in such triple systems, with potential implications for gravitational-wave astronomy.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.Vol. 112(4)
Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (SE), University of Perugia (IT), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia (IT)
Dipartimenti di Eccellenza, National Research Foundation, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
4.62
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