From the Test-Mass Limit to Binary Black-Hole Waveforms in Higher-Derivative Gravity
Abstract
Many higher-derivative theories predict stronger deviations from General Relativity for lower-mass black holes, while their nonlinear field equations often prevent reliable simulations of the full binary evolution. Here we develop a route from controlled black hole perturbation theory based on the modified Teukolsky formalism to comparable-mass waveforms, using parity-even cubic gravity as a representative example. We find that the tidal response of the secondary black hole enters at the same perturbative order as the direct higher-curvature correction and is therefore essential for a consistent leading-order waveform. The resulting strong-field fluxes and conservative dynamics produce an accumulated inspiral dephasing that grows toward merger. Embedding this test-mass information into an effective-one-body model, we construct inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for comparable-mass binaries and find coupling-dependent dephasing and waveform-peak shifts. Our results demonstrate how strong-field test-mass calculations can anchor waveform models for higher-derivative gravity when theory-specific numerical-relativity simulations are unavailable.
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BibTeX
@misc{yang2026from,
title = {{From the Test-Mass Limit to Binary Black-Hole Waveforms in Higher-Derivative Gravity}},
author = {Chaoyi Yang and Neev Khera and Dongjun Li and Huan Yang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.11726},
eprint = {2609.11726},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11726},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - From the Test-Mass Limit to Binary Black-Hole Waveforms in Higher-Derivative Gravity
AU - Chaoyi Yang
AU - Neev Khera
AU - Dongjun Li
AU - Huan Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.11726
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11726
AB - Many higher-derivative theories predict stronger deviations from General Relativity for lower-mass black holes, while their nonlinear field equations often prevent reliable simulations of the full binary evolution. Here we develop a route from controlled black hole perturbation theory based on the modified Teukolsky formalism to comparable-mass waveforms, using parity-even cubic gravity as a representative example. We find that the tidal response of the secondary black hole enters at the same perturbative order as the direct higher-curvature correction and is therefore essential for a consistent leading-order waveform. The resulting strong-field fluxes and conservative dynamics produce an accumulated inspiral dephasing that grows toward merger. Embedding this test-mass information into an effective-one-body model, we construct inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for comparable-mass binaries and find coupling-dependent dephasing and waveform-peak shifts. Our results demonstrate how strong-field test-mass calculations can anchor waveform models for higher-derivative gravity when theory-specific numerical-relativity simulations are unavailable.
ER -