Evolution of inspiral orbits around a Schwarzschild black hole

Abstract

We present results from calculations of the orbital evolution in eccentric binaries of nonrotating black holes with extreme mass-ratios. Our inspiral model is based on the method of osculating geodesics, and is the first to incorporate the full gravitational self-force (GSF) effect, including conservative corrections. The GSF information is encapsulated in an analytic interpolation formula based on numerical GSF data for over a thousand sample geodesic orbits. We assess the importance of including conservative GSF corrections in waveform models for gravitational-wave searches.

4 pages, 3 figures, Fast GSF calculator code available at: http://www.nielswarburton.net/lib_Sch_GSF/