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Superradiance constraints from GW231123

Andrea Caputo1,2,*, Gabriele Franciolini1,†, and Samuel J. Witte3,4,5,‡

  • *Contact author: andrea.caputo@cern.ch
  • †Contact author: gabriele.franciolini@cern.ch
  • ‡Contact author: Samuel.Witte@physics.ox.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 083031 – Published 22 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/f7w5-36ng

Abstract

Gravitational wave observations have recently revealed with high significance, and high precision, the existence of O(100)M⊙ rapidly rotating black holes, allowing gravitational wave events to be used for the first time to probe unexplored axion parameter space using the phenomenon known as black hole superradiance. Here, we present new limits on axions using the binary black hole merger event GW231123, whose constituent black holes are among the fastest spinning observed with gravitational waves to date. We demonstrate that the most viable binary formation channels lead to conservative constraints on axion masses μ∼[0.6−5]×10−13  eV and decay constants fΦ≳1014  GeV, extending existing superradiance constraints derived using x-ray observations to yet lower axion masses.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 083031– Published 22 April, 2026
  • Received 27 August 2025
  • Accepted 26 March 2026
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