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Late Inspiral and Merger of Binary Black Holes in Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity
By James Healy, Tanja Bode, Roland Haas, Enrique Pazos, Pablo Laguna, Deirdre M. Shoemaker, Nicolás Yunes
Published in Classical and Quantum Gravity 29 (Monday, October 22, 2012)

Abstract

Gravitational wave observations will probe nonlinear gravitational interactions and thus enable strong tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity. We present a numerical relativity study of the late inspiral and merger of binary black holes in scalar–tensor theories of gravity. We consider binaries inside a scalar field bubble, including in some cases a potential. We demonstrate how an evolving scalar field is able to trigger detectable differences between gravitational waves in scalar–tensor gravity and the corresponding waves in general relativity.