Abstract
The general relativistic (Mercury-type) periastron advance is calculated here for the first time with exquisite precision in full general relativity. We use accurate numerical relativity simulations of spinless black-hole binaries with mass ratios and compare with the predictions of several analytic approximation schemes. We find the effective-one-body model to be remarkably accurate and, surprisingly, so also the predictions of self-force theory [replacing ]. Our results can inform a universal analytic model of the two-body dynamics, crucial for ongoing and future gravitational-wave searches.
- Received 16 June 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.141101
© 2011 American Physical Society