Probing fundamental physics with extreme mass ratio inspirals: Full Bayesian inference for scalar charge
Lorenzo Speri, Susanna Barsanti, Andrea Maselli, Thomas P. Sotiriou, Niels Warburton, Maarten van de Meent, Alvin J. K. Chua, Ollie Burke, Jonathan Gair
Abstract
Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are key sources for the future space-based gravitational wave detector Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and are considered promising probes of fundamental physics. Here, we present the first complete Bayesian analysis of EMRI signals in theories with an additional massless scalar, which could arise in an extension of general relativity or of the Standard Model of particle physics. We develop a waveform model accurate at adiabatic order for equatorial eccentric orbits around spinning black holes. Using full Bayesian inference, we forecast LISA’s ability to probe the presence of new fundamental fields with EMRI observations.