Gravitational waves induced by a spinning particle falling into a rotating black hole

Overspinning a black hole with a test body

It has long been known that a maximally spinning black hole cannot be overspun by tossing in a test body. Here we show that if instead the black hole starts out with below maximal spin, then indeed overspinning can be achieved. We find that requirements on the size and internal structure of the test body can be met if the body carries in orbital but not spin angular momentum. Our analysis neglects radiative and self-force effects, which may prevent the overspinning.

Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves

Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.