Binary black hole systems do not evolve in isolation. Rather, they can be surrounded by gas, dark matter, and fields that populate our Universe. In my current work, I investigate how astrophysical environments, such as dark matter halos around massive black holes, affect the dynamics, tidal response, and gravitational-wave emission of compact binaries, and how these environmental signatures can be distinguished from vacuum or beyond-GR effects.

Asymmetric binaries, such as extreme- and intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs and IMRIs) targeted by LISA, provide precision laboratories for testing gravity and searching for new fundamental fields in the Universe. Modelling their dynamics and gravitational-wave emission has been a major focus of my work over the past year. My work develops accurate models of the long-term evolution of EMRIs and IMRIs and assesses the relevance and detectability of deviations from General Relativity with future observations.

The post-merger ringdown following a binary coalescence carries valuable information about the remnant black hole and its progenitors. The signal's mode amplitudes and oscillation spectrum can be used to infer these properties and probe fundamental physics. I study how ringdown modes are excited and how black-hole spectroscopy can test the Kerr geometry, characterize astrophysical environments, and reveal possible departures from General Relativity.