# Gravitational waves from in-spirals of compact objects in binary common-envelope evolution

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new class of gravitational-wave sources resulting from compact objects spiraling through a gaseous common-envelope, with signals dominated by gas dynamical friction, offering insights into stellar interiors and CE evolution.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that common-envelope interactions produce distinctive GW signals dominated by gas effects, different from isolated mergers, and explores their observational and astrophysical implications.

## Key findings

- Characteristic GW strains of ~10^{-23} to 10^{-21} at 10 kpc
- GW signals can probe interior stellar regions and CE evolution
- CE-mergers may lead to observable electromagnetic counterparts

## Abstract

Detection of gravitational-wave (GW) sources enables the characterisation of binary compact objects and of their in-spiral. However, other dissipative processes can affect the in-spiral. Here we show that the in-spiral of compact objects through a gaseous common-envelope (CE) arising from an evolved stellar companion produces a novel type of GW-sources, whose evolution is dominated by the dissipative gas dynamical friction effects from the CE, rather than the GW-emission itself. The evolution and properties of the GW-signals differ from those of isolated gas-poor mergers significantly. We find characteristic strains of $\sim10^{-23}$-$10^{-21}$ ($10{\rm kpc}/{D}$) for such sources -- observable by next-generation space-based GW-detectors. The evolution of the GW-signal can serve as a probe of the interior regions of the evolved star, and the final stages of CE-evolution, otherwise inaccessible through other observational means. Moreover, such CE-mergers are frequently followed by observable explosive electromagnetic counterparts and/or the formation of exotic stars.