Relativistic model of binary extreme-mass-ratio inspiral systems and their gravitational radiation

Abstract: A binary extreme-mass-ratio inspiral (b-EMRI) is a hierarchical triple system consisting of a stellar-mass binary black hole (BBH) orbiting a central Kerr supermassive black hole (SMBH). Although predicted by several astrophysical models, b-EMRIs pose a challenge in waveform modeling due to their complex three-body dynamics and strong relativistic effects. Here we take advantage of the hierarchical nature of b-EMRI systems to transform the internal motion of the small binary into global trajectories around the SMBH. This allows us to use black hole perturbation theory to calculate both the low-frequency gravitational waveform due to its EMRI nature and the high-frequency waveform generated by the inner motion of the BBH. When the inner binary's separation vanishes, our calculation recovers the standard relativistic adiabatic EMRI waveform. Furthermore, by including the high-frequency perturbation, we find a correction to the waveform as large as the adiabatic order when the frequency matches the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of the SMBH, therefore supporting an earlier proof-of-concept study claiming that the small BBH can resonantly excite the QNMs of the SMBH. More importantly, we find that b-EMRIs can evolve faster than regular EMRIs due to this resonant dissipation through the high-frequency modes. These characteristics distinguish b-EMRI waveform templates from regular EMRI templates for future space-based gravitational-wave detectors.