Black Holes and Compact Objects in Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

Gravitational wave observations offer us unique probes onto the nature of
astrophysical objects in coalescing binary systems. As a binary approaches
merger, its dynamics is sensitive to various so-called “finite-size
effects” of the binary constituents, which leave measurable imprints on
waveforms. In this talk, I will discuss the finite-size effects of Kerr
black holes, focusing on their tidal response to a perturbing companion
where most of recent progress has been made. I will then describe recent
efforts to use these finite-size effects to detect new types of compact
objects in the data.