Gravity Seminars

Gravitational wave astronomy offers us a unique probe onto the nature of astrophysical bodies in coalescing binary systems. As a binary approaches merger, its dynamics is sensitive to various so-called "finite-size effects" of the binary constituents, which leave measurable imprints on waveforms. In this talk, I will first discuss the finite-size effects of Kerr black holes, focusing on their tidal response to a perturbing companion where most of recent progress has been made. I will then describe recent efforts to use these finite-size effects to detect new types of compact objects in the data.