Gravitational Waves Uncover Dark Matter Around Black Holes

Scientists at the University of Amsterdam have developed a new approach to using gravitational waves to uncover dark matter around black holes. This research, led by Rodrigo Vicente, Theophanes K. Karydas, and Gianfranco Bertone, focuses on extreme mass-ratio inspirals, or EMRIs, where a smaller black hole orbits a much larger one.

Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, introduces a fully relativistic model based on Einstein's theory of general relativity, which more accurately describes how the presence of dark matter alters the gravitational waves emitted during these events.

The model suggests that dense regions of dark matter, often referred to as 'spikes,' would leave measurable signatures in gravitational wave signals detected by future observatories like the European Space Agency's LISA space antenna, expected to launch in 2035.

The researchers emphasize that understanding these signals is crucial for charting the distribution of dark matter in the universe, which remains largely invisible yet constitutes a significant portion of the universe's mass.

By refining gravitational wave calculations to account for these hidden structures, this work represents a significant step towards understanding the fundamental nature of dark matter and its role in cosmic evolution.