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The final stages of binary evolution using multi-messenger studies

Thomas Kupfer, Simone Scaringi, Paul Groot, Boris Gänsicke, Ingrid Pelisoli, Anna F. Pala, Jan van Roestel, Silvia Toonen, Domitilla de Martino, Noel Castro Segura, David Buckley, Valerie Van Grootel, Kieran O'Brien, Samaya Nissanke

Abstract

Ultracompact Galactic binaries with orbital periods below an hour are among the strongest persistent gravitational-wave (GW) sources in the mHz band and will constitute the dominant population detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Tens of thousands are predicted to be individually resolved, with a substantial fraction bright enough for electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. This opens an unprecedented multi-messenger window on compact binary evolution, tidal interactions, mass transfer, and the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. We highlight key science enabled by joint GW + EM constraints and emphasize the critical need for rapid, high-cadence spectroscopic capabilities in the 2040s. In particular, the most compact (<10 min) binaries detected by LISA will require read-noise-free, zero-dead-time spectroscopic facilities, potentially realized through coordinated arrays of telescopes with time-staggered exposures, to measure radial velocities, tidal heating signatures, and orbital evolution with the precision needed for transformative multi-messenger studies.

The final stages of binary evolution using multi-messenger studies

Abstract

Ultracompact Galactic binaries with orbital periods below an hour are among the strongest persistent gravitational-wave (GW) sources in the mHz band and will constitute the dominant population detected by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Tens of thousands are predicted to be individually resolved, with a substantial fraction bright enough for electromagnetic (EM) follow-up. This opens an unprecedented multi-messenger window on compact binary evolution, tidal interactions, mass transfer, and the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. We highlight key science enabled by joint GW + EM constraints and emphasize the critical need for rapid, high-cadence spectroscopic capabilities in the 2040s. In particular, the most compact (<10 min) binaries detected by LISA will require read-noise-free, zero-dead-time spectroscopic facilities, potentially realized through coordinated arrays of telescopes with time-staggered exposures, to measure radial velocities, tidal heating signatures, and orbital evolution with the precision needed for transformative multi-messenger studies.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 4 sections, 1 figure.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Astrophysics using combined EM+GW observations
  3. Technology and data handling requirements
  4. References

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Characteristic strain–frequency plot for detectable and verification binaries: AM CVns in blue, DWDs in red, sdBs in yellow, and UCXB in magenta. Filled stars represent binaries detectable within 3 months of observations, which here we call verification binaries. The black solid line represents LISA's sensitivity curve that accounts for the instrumental noise (LISA Science Study Team 2018) and Galactic confusion foreground (Babak et al. 2017). For comparison in gray, we show a mock Galactic DWD population detectable with LISA from Wilhelm et al. (2021). Taken from Kupfer et al. (2024)