{
  "abstract": "Much like the aerodynamic deflection of a spinning curveball, a rotating secondary in an extreme-mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI) experiences Magnus and lift forces, in addition to the standard drag force, when traversing a gaseous environment. We present the first framework that incorporates these specific spin-coupled environmental effects (EEs) into the evolution of EMRI. Over the multi-year observation windows of space-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, these interactions imprint a unique, distinguishable dephasing signature on the signal. Crucially, a Fisher matrix analysis reveals that gas drag breaks the fundamental vacuum-projection degeneracy between the secondary's spin magnitude and inclination, thereby tightening parameter constraints. Thus, accounting for EEs is not merely a modeling necessity, but could potentially be a powerful tool for enhancing the detectability of the secondary's intrinsic spin, and could serve as a novel probe of accretion flows harboring massive black holes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2606.01569",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Leif Lui"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lisa V. Drummond"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alejandro Torres-Orjuela"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/55mzz6e8vtj17.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.01569",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "55mzz6e8vtj17",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01569",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "gr-qc"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.01569",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/55mzz6e8vtj17.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:00Z",
      "native_id": "2606.01569",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01569"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:gr-qc",
      "subfield": "gravitation"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries",
  "title_text": "Pitching Cosmic Curveballs: Environmental Effects on Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals with Spinning Secondaries",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/55mzz6e8vtj17",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1103/dy3h-65ty",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}