Gravitational Wave Signatures Induced by Dark Fluid Accretion in Binary Systems

We investigate the impact of dark fluid accretion on gravitational waveforms emitted by a compact binary system consisting of a supermassive black hole and a stellar-mass black hole. Using a Lagrangian framework with 1 PN and 2.5 PN corrections, we analyze the effects of the spherically symmetric accretion of a fluid with steady-state flow, including those characterized by an equation of state parameter resembling dark energy, on the binary’s dynamics. We validate our approach by comparing it with previous studies in the common region of validity and extend the analysis to include both local effects, such as dynamical friction, and global gravitational interactions with the stellar-mass black hole, focusing on their dependence on the fluid’s properties. Our analysis reveals that these interactions induce de-phasing in gravitational waveforms, with the phase shift influenced by the fluid’s equation of state and energy density. We also extend the study to sudden cosmological singularities, finding that, although they can deform the binary’s orbit from initially circular to elliptical, their effect on de-phasing is negligible for cosmologically relevant energy densities. By incorporating both the local and global gravitational interactions of a fluid on a two-body system into the equations of motion, this preliminary study provides a framework for understanding the interplay between fluid dynamics and gravitational wave emissions in astrophysical systems. It further reinforces the potential for probing the properties of astrophysically relevant fluids through gravitational wave observations.