Related papers: Second-order gravitational self-force
In order to extract physical parameters from the waveform of an extreme-mass-ratio binary, one requires a second-order--accurate description of the motion of the smaller of the two objects in the binary. Using a method of matched asymptotic…
When a small, uncharged, compact object is immersed in an external background spacetime, at zeroth order in its mass it moves as a test particle in the background. At linear order, its own gravitational field alters the geometry around it,…
The second-order gravitational self-force on a small body is an important problem for gravitational-wave astronomy of extreme mass-ratio inspirals. We give a first-principles derivation of a prescription for computing the first and second…
I review the problem of motion for small bodies in General Relativity, with an emphasis on developing a self-consistent treatment of the gravitational self-force. An analysis of the various derivations extant in the literature leads me to…
A small extended body moving through an external spacetime $g_{\alpha\beta}$ creates a metric perturbation $h_{\alpha\beta}$, which forces the body away from geodesic motion in $g_{\alpha\beta}$. The foundations of this effect, called the…
We derive an expression for the second-order gravitational self-force that acts on a self-gravitating compact-object moving in a curved background spacetime. First we develop a new method of derivation and apply it to the derivation of the…
In recent years, asymptotic approximation schemes have been developed to describe the motion of a small compact object through a vacuum background to any order in perturbation theory. The schemes are based on rigorous methods of matched…
The gravitational field of a particle of small mass $\mu$ moving through curved spacetime, with metric $g_{ab}$, is naturally and easily decomposed into two parts each of which satisfies the perturbed Einstein equations through $O(\mu)$.…
A point particle of small mass m moves in free fall through a background vacuum spacetime metric g_ab and creates a first-order metric perturbation h^1ret_ab that diverges at the particle. Elementary expressions are known for the singular…
The gravitational self-force has thus far been formulated in background spacetimes for which the metric is a solution to the Einstein field equations in vacuum. While this formulation is sufficient to describe the motion of a small object…
Through second order in perturbative general relativity, a small compact object in an external vacuum spacetime obeys a generalized equivalence principle: although it is accelerated with respect to the external background geometry, it is in…
Extreme mass-ratio inspirals, in which solar-mass compact bodies spiral into supermassive black holes, are an important potential source for gravitational wave detectors. Because of the extreme mass-ratio, one can model these systems using…
We consider the motion of small bodies in general relativity. The key result captures a sense in which such bodies follow timelike geodesics (or, in the case of charged bodies, Lorentz-force curves). This result clarifies the relationship…
In this paper we consider equations of motion for 2-body problem according to an observer close to one of the gravitational bodies. The influence of the Thomas precession of the observer's frame has an important role. The equations of…
We derive exact, modified geodesic equations for a system of non-spinning, self-gravitating interacting bodies in a class of alternative theories of gravity to general relativity. We use a prescription proposed by Eardley for incorporating…
An idealized "test" object in general relativity moves along a geodesic. However, if the object has a finite mass, this will create additional curvature in the spacetime, causing it to deviate from geodesic motion. If the mass is…
Gravitational self-force theory is the primary way of modelling extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs). One difficulty that appears in second-order self-force calculations is the strong divergence at the worldline of the small object, which…
We revisit the old problem of the self-force on a particle moving in a weak-field spacetime in the context of renewed interest in two-body gravitational scattering. We analytically calculate the scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational…
Using post-Newtonian equations of motion for fluid bodies valid to the second post-Newtonian order, we derive the equations of motion for binary systems with finite-sized, non-spinning but arbitrarily shaped bodies. In particular we study…
We consider the importance of the second-order dissipative self force for gravitational wave dephasing for an extreme or intermediate mass ratio system moving along a quasi-circular Schwarzschild orbit. For the first-order self force we use…