Gravitational Waves from Inspiralling Black Hole and Neutron Star Binaries in Einstein-Cartan Theory
Giorno 5 giugno 2025, con inizio alle ore 14:30, presso l'Aula T del DFA, su invito del Prof. V. Branchina, il Dr. Emmanuele Battista (INFN, Sez. Napoli) terrà un seminario dal titolo Gravitational Waves from Inspiralling Black Hole and Neutron Star Binaries in Einstein-Cartan Theory.
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Abstract. Gravitational wave astronomy has ushered in a new era in fundamental physics, offering unprecedented access to extreme regimes of gravity, matter, and cosmology. Since the landmark detection of GW150914 and the multi-messenger event GW170817, gravitational waves have become an essential tool for probing compact binaries. The merger of neutron stars encodes unique signatures of dense nuclear matter and quantum chromodynamics under extreme conditions. Precise measurements of their tidal deformability and post-merger dynamics are expected to disclose valuable information about the equation of state of dense matter, potentially revealing new phases such as quark matter or color superconductivity. Black hole coalescences provide a clean environment for investigating general relativity in both its classical and quantum aspects. In particular, the analysis of quasi-normal modes characterizing the ringdown phase may reveal the presence of exotic compact objects, which generate echo-like signals reflecting quantum corrections at the horizon scale. Gravitational waves also serve as powerful cosmological tools, offering the possibility of assessing the nature of dark energy and dark matter, as well as to investigate the sector of cosmological perturbations. Future detectors such as the Einstein Telescope will deliver a wealth of data with unprecedented sensitivity, potentially unveiling deviations from general relativity. Among the various modified gravity theories, Einstein-Cartan model has been devised to extend the principles of general relativity to microscopic scales. In this setting, the intrinsic quantum spin of elementary particles is described geometrically via the torsion tensor, defined as the antisymmetric part of the affine connection. In this seminar, we explore the generation of gravitational waves within the framework of Einstein-Cartan gravity by employing a methodology known as Blanchet-Damour formalism. We present an application to spinning binary systems composed of black holes or neutron stars and show that Einstein-Cartan corrections may leave observable imprints in the gravitational-wave signal. The talk will provide an overview of Einstein-Cartan model, gravitational waves, and the Blanchet-Damour approach, and will conclude with a discussion of open problems and future directions.