| Name: Shubhagata Bhaumik |
| Affiliation: IIT Bombay |
| Conference ID: ASI2026_742 |
| Title: Search for Eccentric Binary Black Hole Mergers in the Third Observing Run of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA |
| Abstract Type: Oral |
| Abstract Category: High Energy Phenomena, Fundamental Physics and Astronomy |
| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Shubhagata Bhaumik(IIT Bombay) |
| Abstract: The increased sensitivity of the recent fourth observing run by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) along with the wealth of observations from LVK’s first three observing runs will enable us to address a fundamental question: the origin of binary black hole systems. Gravitational-wave signals give us several hints that can help determine what kind of environment the binary formed and merged in. One of the biggest indicators that a binary interacted with its environment in the late stages of its evolution is its orbital eccentricity. In my presentation, I will talk about why the detection of gravitational wave signals from eccentric binary black holes has proved to be challenging and the progress that has been made by LVK in various domains to mitigate these challenges. I will also discuss the dependence of LVK’s search sensitivity in the third observing run on source properties of the binary black hole system, and how this can be a useful tool to make astrophysical interpretations of our detections. |
