Speaker
Description
The most general bound binary black hole (BBH) system has an eccentric orbit and precessing spins. Detecting a BBH with significant eccentricity near merger would be a clear signature of dynamical formation, while the spin–orbit misalignment angles (spin tilts) provide a powerful probe of different astrophysical formation channels. We have developed publicly available codes that evolve eccentric, precessing BBHs using orbit-averaged and precession-averaged post-Newtonian equations. These codes can evolve systems both backwards and forwards in time, enabling constraints on formation scenarios such as hierarchical mergers. Using them, we study the coupled evolution of orbital and spin-precession parameters, focusing on how eccentricity influences the separation at which spin morphology transitions occur. This framework can also inform the development of waveform models for eccentric, precessing BBHs, thereby enhancing our understanding of these systems through gravitational-wave observations.
