Constraining dirty black holes and pseudo-complex general relativity with the gravitational waves transient catalog 3.0

Abstract We use data from the gravitational wave (GW) transient catalog 3.0 to update constraints on parameterized deviations from general relativity (GR), as encountered in pseudo-complex GR (pcGR) theory and models of dirty black holes (BHs). The pcGR framework extends Einstein’s theory of GR by introducing additional parameters that diverge from standard predictions in the strong-field regime, potentially excluding BH horizons for specific parameter choices. We analyze GW signals from coalescing compact objects to obtain new bounds on these parameters. Our results modify existing constraints and identify previously unexplored regions of parameter space, exploring the observational viability of dirty BHs and horizonless solutions in pcGR. We confirm the exclusion of 1PN deviations sufficient to avoid a horizon, and for the first time rule out 1.5PN as well. We also discuss implications for current and future GW observations in refining these constraints