Probing Particle Physics with Gravitational Waves

TL;DR

This paper explores how gravitational wave observations can be used to detect new physics beyond the Standard Model, focusing on ultralight bosons and other exotic particles through their effects on binary systems.

Contribution

It introduces novel methods for probing particle physics using gravitational wave data, particularly highlighting binary black holes as detectors of ultralight bosons and other new physics signatures.

Findings

Binary black holes can serve as detectors for ultralight bosonic dark matter.

Finite-size effects of new physics can imprint detectable signatures on gravitational waveforms.

Current search methods may be adapted to identify signals from beyond Standard Model physics.

Abstract

The direct detection of gravitational waves offers an exciting new window onto our Universe. At the same time, multiple observational evidence and theoretical considerations motivate the presence of physics beyond the Standard Model. In this thesis, we explore new ways of probing particle physics in the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. We focus on the signatures of ultralight bosons on the gravitational waves emitted by binary systems, demonstrating how binary black holes are novel detectors of this class of dark matter. We also discuss probes of other types of new physics through their finite-size imprints on gravitational waveforms, and examine the extent to which current template-bank searches could be used to detect these signals. In the first two chapters of this thesis, we review several aspects of gravitational-wave physics and particle physics at the weak coupling frontier; we hope the reader would find these reviews helpful in delving further into the literature and in their research.