Abstract
We derive the equations of motion of an extended test body in the context of Einstein’s theory of gravitation. The equations of motion are obtained via a multipolar approximation method and are given up to the quadrupolar order. Special emphasis is put on the explicit construction of the so-called canonical form of the energy-momentum density. The set of gravitational multipolar moments and the corresponding equations of motion allow for a systematic comparison to competing multipolar approximation schemes.
- Received 21 September 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.81.044019
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