Testing the nature of dark compact objects with gravitational waves

Abstract

Within Einstein's theory of gravity, any compact object heavier than a few solar masses must be a black hole. Any observation showing otherwise would imply either new physics beyond General Relativity or new exotic matter fields beyond the Standard Model, and might provide a portal to understand some puzzling properties of a black hole. We give a short overview on tests of the nature of dark compact objects with present and future gravitational-wave observations, including inspiral tests of the multipolar structure of compact objects and of their tidal deformability, ringdown tests, and searches for near-horizon structures with gravitational-wave echoes.

Comments: 27 pages + references; 10 figures. Invited chapter for "Handbook of Gravitational Wave Astronomy" (Eds. C. Bambi, S. Katsanevas and K. Kokkotas; Springer Singapore, 2021)