On the use of black hole binaries as probes of local dark energy properties

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the potential of using black hole binaries to measure local dark energy properties via gravitational waves, concluding that such measurements are impractical due to extremely low accretion rates.

Contribution

It critically assesses the feasibility of detecting dark energy effects on black hole binaries through gravitational radiation, finding such detection unfeasible.

Findings

Dark energy accretion rates are too low for detection.

Measuring local dark energy properties via black hole binaries is not feasible.

Gravitational wave observations cannot currently constrain dark energy parameters.

Abstract

Accretion of dark energy onto black holes will take place when dark energy is not a cosmological constant. It has been proposed that the time evolution of the mass of the black holes in binary systems due to dark energy accretion could be detectable by gravitational radiation. This would make it possible to use observations of black hole binaries to measure local dark energy properties, e.g., to determine the sign of 1+w where w is the dark energy equation of state. In this Letter we show that such measurements are unfeasible due to the low accretion rates.