Bogdanović Tamara, Miller M Coleman, Blecha Laura
School of Physics and Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 837 State St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA.
Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, 4296 Stadium Dr., College Park, MD 20742 USA.
Living Rev Relativ. 2022;25(1):3. doi: 10.1007/s41114-022-00037-8. Epub 2022 Jun 24.
The next two decades are expected to open the door to the first coincident detections of electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational-wave (GW) signatures associated with massive black-hole (MBH) binaries heading for coalescence. These detections will launch a new era of multimessenger astrophysics by expanding this growing field to the low-frequency GW regime and will provide an unprecedented understanding of the evolution of MBHs and galaxies. They will also constitute fundamentally new probes of cosmology and would enable unique tests of gravity. The aim of this Living Review is to provide an introduction to this research topic by presenting a summary of key findings, physical processes and ideas pertaining to EM counterparts to MBH mergers as they are known at the time of this writing. We review current observational evidence for close MBH binaries, discuss relevant physical processes and timescales, and summarize the possible EM counterparts to GWs in the precursor, coalescence, and afterglow stages of a MBH merger. We also describe open questions and discuss future prospects in this dynamic and quick-paced research area.
预计在未来二十年里，将首次开启对与即将合并的大质量黑洞（MBH）双星相关的电磁（EM）和引力波（GW）信号进行同时探测的大门。这些探测将通过把这个不断发展的领域扩展到低频GW波段，开启多信使天体物理学的新时代，并将提供对MBH和星系演化的前所未有的理解。它们还将构成宇宙学的全新探测手段，并能对引力进行独特的测试。本《实时综述》的目的是通过总结在撰写本文时已知的与MBH合并的电磁对应体相关的关键发现、物理过程和观点，对这一研究主题进行介绍。我们回顾了紧密MBH双星的当前观测证据，讨论了相关的物理过程和时间尺度，并总结了在MBH合并的前身、合并和余辉阶段中GW可能的电磁对应体。我们还描述了悬而未决的问题，并讨论了这个动态且发展迅速的研究领域的未来前景。
