We construct a new rotating solution of Einstein's theory in vacuum by exploiting the Lie point symmetries of the field equations in the complex potential formalism of Ernst. In particular, we perform a discrete symmetry transformation, known as inversion, of the gravitational potential associated with the Kerr metric. The resulting metric describes a rotating generalization of the Schwarzschild--Levi-Civita spacetime, and we refer to it as the Kerr--Levi-Civita metric. We study the key geometric features of this novel spacetime, which turns out to be free of curvature singularities, topological defects, and closed timelike curves. These attractive properties are also common to the extremal black hole and the super-spinning case. The solution is algebraically general (Petrov-type I), and its horizon structure is exactly that of the Kerr spacetime. The ergoregions, however, are strongly influenced by the Levi-Civita-like asymptotic structure, producing an effect akin to the magnetized Kerr--Newman and swirling solutions. Interestingly, while its static counterpart permits a Kerr--Schild representation, the Kerr--Levi-Civita metric does not admit such a formulation. less

We compute the quasi-normal mode (QNM) frequencies of slowly rotating black holes in dynamical Chern-Simons (dCS) gravity, including corrections up to second order in the black hole's dimensionless spin parameter ($\chi$) and second order in the dCS coupling parameter ($\alpha$). Due to the complexities of constructing a Newman-Penrose tetrad at this order, we employ a metric perturbation approach. We derive a system of coupled ordinary differential equations for the primary axial $l$-mode and the polar $l\pm 1$ modes, which is then solved numerically with appropriate ingoing and outgoing wave boundary conditions. Our numerical framework is validated in the General Relativistic limit against known Schwarzschild QNMs and highly accurate Kerr QNM results for $\chi \leq 0.15$. For the fundamental $n=0, l=m=2$ axial mode, we present detailed numerical results illustrating the dependence of QNM frequencies on both $\chi$ and $\alpha$. We observe that while rotation generally increases the damping time, increasing the dCS coupling parameter significantly reduces the damping time of the axial mode. This finding contrasts with previous analytical work on polar modes, which suggested an increase in damping time due to dCS effects, highlighting a crucial parity-dependent difference in how dCS gravity impacts black hole ringdowns. Furthermore, we provide an analytical fitting formula for this mode. These results, incorporating coupled spin and dCS effects at second order, provide more accurate theoretical predictions for testing dCS gravity with gravitational wave observations of black hole ringdowns. The refined QNM calculations are particularly relevant for lower-mass black hole merger events, such as GW230529, where dCS corrections may be more prominent and their distinct damping signatures could be observable. [Abridged Version] less

Black hole (BH) shadow observations and gravitational wave astronomy have become crucial approaches for exploring BH physics and testing gravitational theories in extreme environments. This paper investigates the charged black hole with scalar hair (CBH-SH) derived from the Einstein-Maxwell-conformal coupled scalar (EMCS) theory. We first constrain the parameter space $(Q/M, s/M^2)$ of the BH using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of M87* and Sgr A*. The results show that M87* provides stronger constraints on positive scalar hair, constraining the scalar hair $s$ within $0\le s/M^2\le0.4632$ and the charge $Q$ within the range $0\le Q/M\le0.6806$. In contrast, Sgr A* imposes tighter constraints on negative scalar hair. When $Q$ approaches zero, $s$ is constrained within the range $0\geq s/M^2\geq-0.0277$. Overall, EHT observations can provide constraints at most on the order of $\mathcal{O}\left({10}^{-1}\right)$. Subsequently, we construct extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) systems and calculate their gravitational waves to assess the detection capability of the LISA detector for these BHs. The results indicate that for central BHs of $M={10}^6M_\odot$, LISA is expected to detect scalar hair $s/M^2$ at the $\mathcal{O}\left({10}^{-4}\right)$ level and charge $Q/M$ at the $\mathcal{O}\left({10}^{-2}\right)$ level, with detection sensitivity far exceeding the current EHT capabilities. This demonstrates the immense potential of EMRI gravitational wave observations in testing EMCS theory. less

Gravitational-wave astronomy has entered a regime where it can extract information about the population properties of the observed binary black holes. The steep increase in the number of detections will offer deeper insights, but it will also significantly raise the computational cost of testing multiple models. To address this challenge, we propose a procedure that first performs a non-parametric (data-driven) reconstruction of the underlying distribution, and then remaps these results onto a posterior for the parameters of a parametric (informed) model. The computational cost is primarily absorbed by the initial non-parametric step, while the remapping procedure is both significantly easier to perform and computationally cheaper. In addition to yielding the posterior distribution of the model parameters, this method also provides a measure of the model's goodness-of-fit, opening for a new quantitative comparison across models. less

This paper presents a new conformal symmetry of stationary, axisymmetric Kerr perturbations. This symmetry is exact but non-geometric (or "hidden"), and each of its generators has an associated infinite family of eigenstate solutions. Tidal perturbations of a black hole form an irreducible highest-weight representation of this conformal group, while the tidal response fields live in a different such representation. This implies that black holes have no tidal deformability, or vanishing Love numbers. less

We obtain the equations of motion for compact binary systems (black holes or neutron stars) in an alternative theory of gravity known as Einstein-AEther theory, which supplements the standard spacetime metric with a timelike four-vector (the AEther field) that is constrained to have unit norm. The equations make use of solutions obtained in Paper I for the gravitational and AEther field potentials within the near zone of the system, evaluated to 2.5 post-Newtonian (PN) order ($O(v/c)^5$ beyond Newtonian gravity), sufficient to obtain the effects of gravitational radiation reaction to the same order as the quadrupole approximation of general relativity. Those potentials were derived by applying the post-Minkowskian method to the field equations of the theory. Using a modified geodesic equation that is a consequence of the effects of the interaction between the AEther field and the internal strong-gravity fields of the compact bodies, we obtain explicit equations of motion in terms of the positions and velocities of the bodies, focussing on the radiation-reaction terms that contribute at 1.5PN and 2.5PN orders. We obtain the rate of energy loss by the system, including the effects of dipole gravitational radiation (conventionally denoted $-1$PN order) and the analogue of quadrupole radiation (denoted $0$PN order). We find significant disagreements with published results, based on calculating the energy flux in the far zone using a ``Noether current'' construction. less

We develop a classification of general Carrollian structures, permitting affine connections with both torsion and non-metricity. We compare with a recent classification of general Galilean structures in order to present a unified perspective on both. Moreover, we demonstrate how both sets of structures emerge from the most general possible Lorentzian structures in their respective limits, and we highlight the role of global hyperbolicity in constraining both structures. We then leverage this work in order to construct for the first time an ultra-relativistic geometric trinity of gravitational theories, and consider connections which are simultaneously compatible with Galilean and Carrollian structures. We close by outlining a number of open questions and future prospects. less

Given that black holes are ubiquitous in the universe and axion-like scalar fields are potential candidates for dark energy and/or dark matter, it is natural to consider cosmological black holes endowed with axion hair. We investigate the photon quasinormal modes of a Schwarzschild black hole with axion hair where the electromagnetic field is coupled to the axion field via a Chern-Simons interaction. We derive the master equations for the electromagnetic field as a set of coupled equations for parity-even and parity-odd modes and numerically compute quasinormal modes by using Leaver's continued fraction method. We find parity violation in the polarization of photons within the quasinormal mode spectrum. This parity violation in electromagnetic signals could serve as a new probe to explore the nature of the dark sector. less

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are anticipated to detect continuous gravitational waves (GWs) from individual supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in the near future. To identify the host galaxy of a GW source, PTAs require significantly improved angular resolution beyond the typical range of 100-1000 square degrees achieved by recent continuous GW searches. In this study, we investigate how precise pulsar distance measurements can enhance the localization of a single GW source. Accurate distance information, comparable to or better than the GW wavelength (typically 1~pc) can refine GW source localization. In the near future, with the advent of Square Kilometre Array (SKA), such high-precision distance measurements will be feasible for a few nearby pulsars. We focus on the relatively nearby pulsars J0437-4715 (156 pc) and J0030+0451 (331 pc), incorporating their actual distance uncertainties based on current VLBI measurements and the anticipated precision of the SKA-era. By simulating 87 pulsars with the GW signal and Gaussian white noise in the timing residuals, we assess the impact of the pulsar distance information on GW source localization. Our results show that without precise distance information, localization remains insufficient to identify host galaxies under 10 ns noise. However, incorporating SKA-era distance precision for nearby pulsars J0437-4715 and J0030+0451 can reduce localization uncertainties to the required level of $10^{-3}$ $\rm deg^{2}$. Localization accuracy strongly depends on the geometric configuration of pulsars with well-measured distances and improves notably near and between such pulsars. The improvement of the localization will greatly aid in identifying the host galaxy of a GW source and constructing an SMBHB catalog. It will further enable follow-up electromagnetic observations to investigate the SMBHB in greater detail. less

The prospect of observing asymmetric compact binaries with next-generation gravitational-wave detectors has motivated the development of fast and accurate waveform models in gravitational self-force theory. These models are based on a two-stage process: in a (slow) offline stage, waveform ingredients are pre-computed as functions on the orbital phase space; in a (fast) online stage, the waveform is generated by evolving through the phase space. While this framework has traditionally been restricted to the inspiral stage of a binary, we recently extended it across the transition to plunge, where the small companion crosses the innermost stable circular orbit around the primary black hole. In this paper, for the special case of quasicircular, nonspinning binaries, we show how the "offline/online" phase-space paradigm also extends through the final plunge, which generates the binary's merger-ringdown signal. We implement the method at leading, geodesic order in the plunge. The resulting plunge waveform agrees well with a stationary-phase approximation at early times and with a (self-consistently calculated) quasinormal mode sum at late times, but we highlight that neither of the two approximations reaches the peak of the full plunge waveform. Finally, we compare the plunge waveform to numerical relativity simulations. Our framework offers the prospect of fast, accurate inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform models for asymmetric binaries. less

We have developed an effective thermodynamic model for a black hole's interior composed of scalar quasiparticles. The proposed interior consists of a core and a crust; the properties of both depend on the kinetics of the quasiparticles. In the core, the quasiparticles possess zero classical kinetic energy; the total potential energy $U(N)$ of the core depends only on the number $N$ of quasiparticles inside it. The thermodynamic description of this state of matter requires the introduction of an inverse temperature $\beta$ inversely proportional to $U(N)$ that supplants the standard temperature in every thermodynamic relation inside the core, driving both the energy density and the pressure negative. The different states of the core, correspondingly, can be parametrized by an additional parameter, which is a mean occupation number $\eta$ of the quasiparticles in the core. Concerning the crust, there are quasiparticles in it that remain trapped by the gravitational potential at finite temperature. The no-escape condition for the quasiparticles in the crust is imposed through a truncation of the phase-space integrals, yielding a direct and analytical coupling between thermodynamics and gravity. The resulting framework unifies core and crust within a single quasiparticle description, highlights the role of negative energy and pressure in black hole interiors, and provides testable predictions for any semiclassical theory that aims to resolve the singularity problem. less

The use of compactified hyperboloidal coordinates for metric formulations of the Einstein field Equations introduces formally singular terms in the equations of motion whose numerical treatment requires care. In this paper we study a particular choice of constraint addition, choice of gauge and reduction fields in order to minimize the number of these terms in a spherically symmetric reduction of the Dual-Foliation Generalized Harmonic Gauge formulation of General Relativity. We proceed to the numerical implementation of a more aggressive compactification, as compared to our previous work. With the present setup there is a direct analogy with conformal compactification used in other approaches to the use of hyperboloidal coordinates. We present numerical results of constraints violating and satisfying perturbations on top of a Schwarzschild black hole. For small perturbations we recover the expected physics from linear theory, corresponding to quasi normal mode ringing and tail decay for a scalar field, both extracted directly at future null infinity from our numerical data. less

In the derivation of the Einstein field equations via Hamilton's principle, the inclusion of a boundary term is essential to render the variational problem well-posed, as it addresses variations that do not vanish at the boundary of the spacetime manifold. Typically, this term is chosen as the Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term. In this work, we propose an alternative treatment of the boundary term within a cosmological framework by employing the Lagrange multiplier method. This approach enforces the vanishing of the boundary term throughout the evolution of the Universe, leading to the prediction of a fluid component that decays as the sixth power of the scale factor. This type of fluid has been studied in the context of the early universe under the name of stiff matter, and it can be related to a scalar field known as kination. less

In this paper, we examine the structure scalars formed from the orthogonal splitting of the Riemann tensor of the spacetime metric describing the interior of a charged matter configuration undergoing dissipative collapse in $f(R,T)$ gravity, and how they influence the various physical parameters of the collapsing matter. A treatment is provided for the unspecified $f(R, T)$ function, and the nature of the results for a linear $f(R, T)$ function is presented. In the absence of dissipation, the energy density inhomogeneity is influenced by $X_{TF}$ and the mass function. Further, the presence of charge affects the structure scalars and the total mass-energy content. The dependence of various physical parameters, such as heat dissipation, energy density inhomogeneity, evolution of the expansion scalar, the shear scalar, effective homogeneous energy density, and pressure anisotropy, on the structure scalars has been clearly indicated. less