Constraining Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Companions with Combined Stellar Orbit and Gravitational Wave Analysis

This research creates a novel synthesis between two complementary detection approaches. While Will et al. (2023) use stellar orbits to constrain IMBH companions, and Guo et al. (2024) propose using pulsar timing arrays for gravitational wave detection, neither combines these powerful techniques. We'd develop a joint analysis framework that simultaneously fits stellar orbit perturbations and searches for gravitational wave signatures from the same potential companion. The key insight is that different companion masses and orbital radii will leave distinct fingerprints in each observational domain - stellar orbits are most sensitive to closer, more massive companions, while gravitational waves can detect more distant or smaller companions. By combining both datasets, we could detect intermediate-mass black holes across a much broader parameter space than either method alone. This would provide the most comprehensive constraints yet on potential companions to Sgr A*, testing theories of black hole growth through mergers.

References:

1. Constraining the Binarity of Massive Black Holes in the Galactic Center and Some Nearby Galaxies via Pulsar Timing Array Observations of Gravitational Waves. Xiao 潇 Guo 郭, Qingjuan 清娟 Yu 于, Y. Lu 陆 (2024). Astrophysical Journal.
2. Constraining a Companion of the Galactic Center Black Hole Sgr A*. C. Will, S. Naoz, A. Hees, Alexandria Tucker, Eric Zhang, T. Do, A. Ghez (2023). Astrophysical Journal.