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Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon?

Vitor Cardoso, Edgardo Franzin, and Paolo Pani
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 171101 – Published 27 April 2016; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 089902 (2016)
Physics logo See Synopsis: Did Black Hole “Mimickers” Produce LIGO Signal?

Abstract

It is commonly believed that the ringdown signal from a binary coalescence provides a conclusive proof for the formation of an event horizon after the merger. This expectation is based on the assumption that the ringdown waveform at intermediate times is dominated by the quasinormal modes of the final object. We point out that this assumption should be taken with great care, and that very compact objects with a light ring will display a similar ringdown stage, even when their quasinormal-mode spectrum is completely different from that of a black hole. In other words, universal ringdown waveforms indicate the presence of light rings, rather than of horizons. Only precision observations of the late-time ringdown signal, where the differences in the quasinormal-mode spectrum eventually show up, can be used to rule out exotic alternatives to black holes and to test quantum effects at the horizon scale.

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  • Received 25 February 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.171101

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsParticles & Fields

Erratum

Erratum: Is the Gravitational-Wave Ringdown a Probe of the Event Horizon? [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 171101 (2016)]

Vitor Cardoso, Edgardo Franzin, and Paolo Pani
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 089902 (2016)

Synopsis

Key Image

Did Black Hole “Mimickers” Produce LIGO Signal?

Published 27 April 2016

Recently detected gravitational waves might not be a signature of black holes but of other massive objects that lack an event horizon.

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Authors & Affiliations

Vitor Cardoso1,2, Edgardo Franzin3,1, and Paolo Pani4,1

  • 1CENTRA, Departamento de Física, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049 Lisboa, Portugal
  • 2Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline Street North Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
  • 3Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari & Sezione INFN Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Italy
  • 4Dipartimento di Fisica, “Sapienza” Università di Roma & Sezione INFN Roma1, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy

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Issue

Vol. 116, Iss. 17 — 29 April 2016

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