On Detecting Equatorial Symmetry Breaking with LISA

TL;DR

This paper investigates how space-based gravitational wave observatories like LISA can detect deviations from equatorial symmetry in Kerr black holes, which are predicted by quantum gravity models, using EMRI signals.

Contribution

It introduces a method to estimate LISA's ability to measure or constrain equatorial symmetry breaking through odd parity multipole moments in EMRI waveforms.

Findings

LISA can measure the ratio S_2/M^3 with about 1% accuracy.

Detecting symmetry breaking provides a strong test of quantum gravity models.

The study uses modified analytic kludge waveforms for parameter estimation.

Abstract

The equatorial symmetry of the Kerr black hole is generically broken in models of quantum gravity. Nevertheless, most phenomenological models start from the assumption of equatorial symmetry, and little attention has been given to the observability of this smoking gun signature of beyond-GR physics. Extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs), in particular, are known to sensitively probe supermassive black holes near their horizon; yet estimates for constraints on deviations from Kerr in space-based gravitational wave observations (e.g. with LISA) of such systems are currently based on equatorially symmetric models. We use modified "analytic kludge" waveforms to estimate how accurately LISA will be able to measure or constrain equatorial symmetry breaking, in the form of the lowest-lying odd parity multipole moments $S_2, M_3$. We find that the dimensionless multipole ratios such as $S_2/M^3$ will typically be detectable for LISA EMRIs with a measurement accuracy of $\Delta(S_2/M^3) \sim 1\%$; this will set a strong constraint on the breaking of equatorial symmetry.