CRA Seminar: Andrea Derdzinski (U. of Zurich)

Title: The role of AGN accretion disks in the formation of characteristic, low-frequency GW sources

Accretion disks in active galactic nuclei (AGN) can enhance the formation of gravitational wave (GW) sources via the interaction of embedded stars and BHs with the surrounding gas. This can produce a substantial population of ‘gas-embedded’ GW sources across a range of frequencies, including extreme mass ratio inspirals detectable by space-based detectors such as LISA.  These sources may occur at a significant rate compared to other EMRI formation channels, and they are particularly interesting: interaction with their environment can imprint signatures in the GW signal, allowing us to independently measure AGN disk properties solely with GWs. I will present an overview of recent results that demonstrate why we expect these sources to occur, how gas interaction manifests in the GW signal, and what we need to figure out in order to prepare for these detections.