Novel Approaches to Black Hole Ringdown Fits

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• Richard Dyer (IoA)
• Monday 16 June 2025, 16:00-17:00
• Martin Ryle Seminar Room, KICC.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Priscilla Canizares.

Following a merger, a perturbed black hole relaxes into its final Kerr state, in part by radiating quasinormal modes (QNMs) — oscillations with specific complex frequencies and angular structures predicted by black hole perturbation theory. QNMs are widely used in waveform modelling and underpin key tests of general relativity and the nature of compact objects, though challenges remain, particularly in avoiding overfitting through well-motivated mode selection. In this talk, I will introduce new techniques for detecting and analysing QNMs, including spatial mapping, which extracts their angular structure, and a fast Bayesian fitting approach that models numerical relativity noise with Gaussian processes, providing a robust alternative to least-squares methods. I will present results obtained using the latest high-fidelity Cauchy-characteristic evolution (CCE) simulations by the SXS collaboration and show how these methods provide insight into the role of overtones and nonlinear effects, both of which will be important for future gravitational wave observations.

This talk is part of the Astro Data Science Discussion Group series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Astro Data Science Discussion Group
• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• Institute of Astronomy Extra Talks
• Institute of Astronomy Talk Lists
• Martin Ryle Seminar Room, KICC

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