Adiabatic Waveforms from Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals: An Analytical Approach

Scientific analysis for the gravitational wave detector LISA will require theoretical waveforms from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) that extensively cover all possible orbital and spin configurations around astrophysical Kerr black holes. However, on-the-fly calculations of these waveforms have not yet overcome the high dimensionality of the parameter space. To confront this challenge, we present a user-ready EMRI waveform model for generic (eccentric and inclined) orbits in Kerr spacetime, using an analytical self-force approach. Our model accurately covers all EMRIs with arbitrary inclination and black hole spin, up to modest eccentricity (≲0.3) and separation (≳2-10  M from the last stable orbit). In that regime, our waveforms are accurate at the leading "adiabatic" order, and they approximately capture transient self-force resonances that significantly impact the gravitational wave phase. The model fills an urgent need for extensive waveforms in ongoing data-analysis studies, and its individual components will continue to be useful in future science-adequate waveforms.

Gravitational Spin-Orbit Coupling through Third-Subleading Post-Newtonian Order: From First-Order Self-Force to Arbitrary Mass Ratios

Exploiting simple yet remarkable properties of relativistic gravitational scattering, we use first-order self-force (linear-in-mass-ratio) results to obtain arbitrary-mass-ratio results for the complete third-subleading post-Newtonian (4.5PN) corrections to the spin-orbit sector of spinning-binary conservative dynamics, for generic (bound or unbound) orbits and spin orientations. We thereby improve important ingredients of models of gravitational waves from spinning binaries, and we demonstrate the improvement in accuracy by comparing against aligned-spin numerical simulations of binary black holes.