Gravitational wave signatures from dark sector interactions

We show that the gravitational waves generated by the perturbations of general relativistic black holes can be considered as a direct probe of the existence of dark sector interactions. Working within the framework of Horndeski theory and linear perturbations, we show that dark sector interactions effectively reduce to an interaction charge that influences both scalar and tensor waveforms. Furthermore, we show that the total dark matter field, including the effects of dark sector interactions, satisfies a conservation equation embodying the equivalence principle. We exploit this realization to setup the Regge-Wheeler equation and the coupled Zerilli and scalar wave equations for a Schwarzschild-(anti) de Sitter black hole. We then present numerical integration of the coupled even-parity wave equations for the case of a dark matter particle falling straight down into a Schwarzschild black hole.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that gravitational waves generated by perturbations of general relativistic black holes can serve as direct evidence for the existence of dark sector interactions. It is found that dark sector interactions can be simplified into an interaction charge affecting scalar and tensor waveforms, while satisfying a conservation equation embodying the equivalence principle. Numerical integration of coupled wave equations reveals the behavior of dark matter particles falling into a Schwarzschild black hole.