Detecting Intermediate-Mass Ratio Inspirals From The Ground And Space

Abstract: The detection of a gravitational capture of a stellar-mass compact object by a massive black hole (MBH) will allow us to test gravity in the strong regime. These sources form via two-body relaxation, by exchanging energy and angular momentum, and inspiral in a slow, progressive way down to the final merger. The range of frequencies is localised in the range of millihertz in the case of MBH of masses $\sim 10^6\,M_{\odot}$, i.e. that of space-borne gravitational-wave observatories such as LISA. In this article I show that, depending on their orbital parameters, intermediate-mass ratios (IMRIs) of MBH of masses between a hundred and a few thousand have frequencies that make them detectable (i) with ground-based observatories, or (ii) with both LISA and ground-based ones such as advanced LIGO/Virgo and third generation ones, with ET as an example. The binaries have a signal-to-noise ratio large enough to ensure detection. More extreme values in their orbital parameters correspond to systems detectable only with ground-based detectors and enter the LIGO/Virgo band in particular in many different harmonics for masses up to some $2000,\,M_{\odot}$. I show that environmental effects are negligible, so that the source should not have this kind of complication. The accumulated phase-shift is measurable with LISA and ET, and for some cases also with LIGO, so that it is possible to recover information about the eccentricity and formation scenario. For IMRIs with a total mass $\lessapprox 2000\,M_{\odot}$ and initial eccentricities up to $0.999$, LISA can give a warning to ground-based detectors with enough time in advance and seconds of precision. The possibility of detecting IMRIs from the ground alone or combined with space-borne observatories opens new possibilities for gravitational wave astronomy.