Energy Versus Angular Momentum in Black Hole Binaries

Thibault Damour, Alessandro Nagar, Denis Pollney, and Christian Reisswig
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 131101 – Published 28 March 2012

Abstract

Using accurate numerical-relativity simulations of (nonspinning) black-hole binaries with mass ratios 11, 21, and 31, we compute the gauge-invariant relation between the (reduced) binding energy E and the (reduced) angular momentum j of the system. We show that the relation E(j) is an accurate diagnostic of the dynamics of a black-hole binary in a highly relativistic regime. By comparing the numerical-relativity ENR(j) curve with the predictions of several analytic approximation schemes, we find that, while the canonically defined, nonresummed post-Newtonian–expanded EPN(j) relation exhibits large and growing deviations from ENR(j), the prediction of the effective one body formalism, based purely on known analytical results (without any calibration to numerical relativity), agrees strikingly well with the numerical-relativity results.

  • Figure
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  • Received 13 October 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.131101

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Thibault Damour1, Alessandro Nagar1, Denis Pollney2, and Christian Reisswig3

  • 1Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France
  • 2Departament de Fisica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, E-07122, Spain
  • 3Theoretical Astrophysics Including Relativity, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 13 — 30 March 2012

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