Ultralight Boson Ionization from Comparable-Mass Binary Black Holes

Abstract

Ultralight bosons around comparable-mass binaries can form gravitationally bound states analogous to molecules once the binary separation decreases below the boson's Bohr radius, with the inner region co-moving with the binary. We simulate the formation of these gravitational molecules, determine their co-moving regions, and compute ionization fluxes induced by orbital motion for various binary eccentricities. We develop semi-analytic formalisms to describe the ionization dynamics of both the co-moving and non-co-moving regions, demonstrating consistency with numerical simulation results. From ionization fluxes, we estimate their backreaction on binary orbital evolution. At early stages, molecule ionization can dominate over gravitational wave emission, producing a spectral turnover in the gravitational wave background. Additionally, ionization of the co-moving component occurs solely due to binary eccentricity, causing orbital circularization.