Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
We model the inspiral of a compact object into a more massive black hole rotating very near the theoretical maximum. We find that once the body enters the near-horizon regime the gravitational radiation is characterized by a constant frequency, equal to (twice) the horizon frequency, with an exponentially damped profile. This contrasts with the usual ‘chirping’ behavior and, if detected, would constitute a ‘smoking gun’ for a near-extremal black hole in nature.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Gralla et al. (2016) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: