Dynamical descalarization with a jump during a black hole merger

Black holes in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity are prone to scalarization, that is a spontaneous development of scalar hair for strong enough spacetime curvature. Since large spacetime curvature is associated with smaller black hole masses, the merging of black holes can lead to dynamical descalarization. This is a spontaneous release of the scalar hair of the newly formed black hole in case its mass is above the scalarization threshold. Depending on the exact form of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling function, the stable scalarized solutions can be either continuously connected to the Schwarzschild black hole, or the transitions between the two can happen with a jump. By performing simulations of black hole head-on collisions in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity prone to dynamical descalization we have demonstrated that such a jump can be clearly observed in the accumulated gravitational wave data of multiple merger events with different masses. The simulations were performed in the decoupling limit approximation, where the backreaction of the scalar field on the metric is neglected. This is a reasonable assumption for weak enough scalar fields. The distinct signature in the gravitational wave signal will share similarities with the effects expected from first order matter phase transitions happening during neutron star binary mergers.

Automated summary

In scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, black holes are prone to scalarization and the merging of black holes can lead to dynamical descalarization. By simulating black hole collisions, researchers have demonstrated that this jump can be observed in the accumulated gravitational wave data.