Probing strong-field gravity and black holes with gravitational waves

URL to conference site: http://www2.rikkyo.ac.jp/web/jgrg19/index.htmlGravitational wave observations will be excellent tools for making precise measurements of processes that occur in very strong- field regions of space time. Extreme mass ratio systems, formed by the capture of a stellar mass body compact by a massive black hole, will be targets for planned space-based interferometers such as LISA and DECIGO. These systems will be especially powerful tools for testing the space time nature of black hole candidates. In this writeup of the talk I gave at JGRG19, I describe how the properties of black holes are imprinted on their waveforms, and how measurements can be used to study these properties and thereby learn about the astrophysics of black holes and about strong- field gravity.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant PHY-0449884)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX08AL42G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNG05G105G)MIT Class of 1956 Career Development Fun