Fundamental fields are a natural outcome in cosmology and particle physics and might therefore serve as a proxy for more complex interactions. The equivalence principle implies that all forms of matter gravitate, and one therefore expects relevant, universal imprints of new physics in strong field gravity, such as that encountered close to black holes. Fundamental fields in the vicinities of supermassive black holes give rise to extremely long-lived, or even unstable, configurations, which slowly extract angular momentum from the black hole or simply evolve nonlinearly over long time scales, with important implications for particle physics and gravitational-wave physics. Here, we perform a fully nonlinear study of scalar-field condensates around rotating black holes. We provide novel ways to specify initial data for the Einstein—Klein—Gordon system, with potential applications in a variety of scenarios. Our numerical results confirm the existence of long-lived bar modes, which act as lighthouses for gravitational wave emission: the scalar field condenses outside the black hole geometry and acts as a constant frequency gravitational-wave source for very long time scales. This effect could turn out to be a potential signature of beyond standard model physics and also a promising source of gravitational waves for future gravitational-wave detectors.

• Received 28 January 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.89.104032