Scalar fields around black hole binaries in LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA

Journal article

Light scalar particles arise naturally in many extensions of the standard model and are compelling dark-matter candidates. Gravitational interactions near black holes can trigger the growth of dense scalar configurations that, if sustained during inspiral, alter binary dynamics and imprint signatures on gravitational-wave signals. Detecting such effects would provide a novel probe of fundamental physics and dark matter. Here, we develop a semianalytic waveform model for binaries in scalar environments, validate it against numerical relativity simulations, and apply it in a Bayesian analysis of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA catalog. We obtain physically meaningful upper limits on scalar densities around most compact binaries. For GW190728 and GW190814, vacuum lies outside the 95% credible region. When including superradiance priors, GW190728 shows tentative evidence for a scalar environment with a Bayes factor of \(\ln \mathcal{B}_{\text{env}}^{\text{vac}} \approx 3.5\), consistent with a light scalar of mass ∼10^-12  eV.

Authors: Roy, S; Vicente, R; Aurrekoetxea, JC; Clough, K; Ferreira, PG

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Volume: 136
• Issue: 19
• Article number: 191402
• Place of publication: United States
• Publication date: 2026-05-12
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-19
• DOI: 10.1103/fv9z-zkxx
• EISSN: 1079-7114
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• Pmid: 42213925
• Language: English