Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

I will present recent results on how binary black holes (BBHs) merge in dense stellar systems through chaotic few-body interactions. From taking into account GR effects in the equation-of-motion, I will show that dense stellar systems are likely to produce non-circular (eccentric) mergers in both LISA and LIGO with rates that are 10-100 times larger than all major groups recently have reported. This makes eccentricity a promising parameter for distinguishing BBH merger channels from each other. I will further discuss new ideas related to how the BBH merger distribution indirectly can be mapped using interrupted stellar tidal disruptions.