Exact theory for the Rezzolla-Zhidenko metric and self-consistent calculation of quasinormal modes

TL;DR

This paper develops an exact scalar-tensor gravity theory with the Rezzolla-Zhidenko metric as a solution, enabling a self-consistent analysis of black hole quasinormal modes and their dependence on non-Einstein parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a covariant scalar-tensor theory where the Rezzolla-Zhidenko metric is an exact solution, allowing for consistent calculation of quasinormal modes in modified gravity.

Findings

Mode spectra depend on non-Einstein parameters and action-level parameters.

Different theory branches predict varied oscillation frequencies and damping times.

Current LIGO constraints allow a range of Rezzolla-Zhidenko parameters compatible with observations.

Abstract

A covariant, scalar-tensor gravity is constructed such that the static, spherically symmetric Rezzolla-Zhidenko metric is an exact solution to the theory. The equations describing gravitational perturbations of this spacetime, which represents a generic black hole possessing an arbitrary number of hairs, can then be derived. This allows for a self-consistent study of the associated quasinormal modes. It is shown that mode spectra are tied to not only the non-Einstein parameters in the metric but also to those that appear at the level of the action, and that different branches of the exact theory can, in some cases, predict significantly different oscillation frequencies and damping times. For choices which make the theory appear more like general relativity in some precise sense, we find that a nontrivial Rezzolla-Zhidenko parameter space is permissible under current constraints on fundamental ringdown modes observed by Advanced LIGO.