Orbital resonances in extreme-mass-ratio inspirals and gravitational wave phenomenology

The arrival of next generation space-borne detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), will probe uncharted territories of the gravitational Universe and unequivocally strengthen our understanding of the gravitational interaction in multiple directions.

In this talk, I will focus on one of the prime targets of LISA, the so-called extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs). EMRIs are binaries that consist of a supermassive black hole, such as those lurking in galactic cores, and a stellar-mass companion.

I will discuss their rich waveform phenomenology, with a main focus on the effects of orbital resonances, as well as potential gravitational-wave observables that may be detected with LISA.