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  1. Abstract Gravitational waves emitted by black hole binary inspiral and mergers enable unprecedented strong-field tests of gravity, requiring accurate theoretical modeling of the expected signals in extensions of general relativity. In this paper we model the gravitational wave emission of inspiralling binaries in scalar Gauss–Bonnet gravity theories. Going beyond the weak-coupling approximation, we derive the gravitational waveform to relative first post-Newtonian order beyond the quadrupole approximation and calculate new contributions from nonlinear curvature terms. We also compute the scalar waveform to relative 0.5PN order beyond the leading −0.5PN order terms. We quantify the effect of these terms and provide ready-to-implement gravitational wave and scalar waveforms as well as the Fourier domain phase for quasi-circular binaries. We also perform a parameter space study, which indicates that the values of black hole scalar charges play a crucial role in the detectability of deviation from general relativity. We also compare the scalar waveforms to numerical relativity simulations to assess the impact of the relativistic corrections to the scalar radiation. Our results provide important foundations for future precision tests of gravity. 
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  2. Abstract

    The discovery of the electromagnetic counterpart to the binary neutron star (NS) merger GW170817 has opened the era of gravitational-wave multimessenger astronomy. Rapid identification of the optical/infrared kilonova enabled a precise localization of the source, which paved the way to deep multiwavelength follow-up and its myriad of related science results. Fully exploiting this new territory of exploration requires the acquisition of electromagnetic data from samples of NS mergers and other gravitational-wave sources. After GW170817, the frontier is now to map the diversity of kilonova properties and provide more stringent constraints on the Hubble constant, and enable new tests of fundamental physics. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time can play a key role in this field in the 2020s, when an improved network of gravitational-wave detectors is expected to reach a sensitivity that will enable the discovery of a high rate of merger events involving NSs (∼tens per year) out to distances of several hundred megaparsecs. We design comprehensive target-of-opportunity observing strategies for follow-up of gravitational-wave triggers that will make the Rubin Observatory the premier instrument for discovery and early characterization of NS and other compact-object mergers, and yet unknown classes of gravitational-wave events.

     
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