Sylvain Marsat

Next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit effects in the equations of motion of compact binary systems

We compute next-to-next-to-leading order spin contributions to the post-Newtonian equations of motion for binaries of compact objects, such as black holes or neutron stars. For maximally spinning black holes, those contributions are of third-and-a-half post-Newtonian (3.5 PN) order, improving our knowledge of the equations of motion, already known for non-spinning objects up to this order. Building on previous work, we represent the rotation of the two bodies using a pole–dipole matter stress–energy tensor and iterate Einsteins field equations for a set of potentials parametrizing the metric in harmonic coordinates. Checks of the result include the existence of a conserved energy, the approximate global Lorentz invariance of the equations of motion in harmonic coordinates and the recovery of the motion of a spinning object on a Kerr background in the test-mass limit. We verified the existence of a contact transformation, together with a redefinition of the spin variables that makes our result equivalent to a previously published reduced Hamiltonian, obtained from the Arnowitt–Deser–Misner formalism.

Next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit effects in the near-zone metric and precession equations of compact binaries

We extend our previous work devoted to the computation of the next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit correction (corresponding to 3.5PN order) in the equations of motion of spinning compact binaries by (i) deriving the corresponding spin–orbit terms in the evolution equations for the spins, the conserved integrals of the motion and the metric regularized at the location of the particles (obtaining also the metric all over the near zone but with some lower precision); (ii) performing the orbital reduction of the precession equations, near-zone metric and conserved integrals to the center-of-mass frame and then further assuming quasi-circular orbits (neglecting gravitational radiation reaction). The results are systematically expressed in terms of the spin variables with a conserved Euclidean norm instead of the original antisymmetric spin tensors of the pole–dipole formalism. This work paves the way to the future computation of the next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit terms in the gravitational-wave phasing of spinning compact binaries.

Cubic-order spin effects in the dynamics and gravitational wave energy flux of compact object binaries

We investigate cubic-in-spin effects for inspiralling compact object binaries, both in the dynamics and in the energy flux emitted in gravitational waves, at the leading post-Newtonian order. We use a Lagrangian formalism to implement finite-size effects, and extend it to cubic order in the spins, which corresponds to the octupolar order in a multipolar decomposition. This formalism allows us to derive the equation of motion, equations of precession for the spin, and stress–energy tensor of each body in covariant form, and admits a formal generalization to any multipolar order. For spin-induced multipoles, i.e.in the case where the rotation of the compact object is solely responsible for the additional multipole moments, we find a unique structure for the octupolar moment representing cubic-in-spin effects. We apply these results to compute the associated effects in the dynamics of compact binary systems, and deduce the corresponding terms in the energy loss rate due to gravitational waves. These effects enter at the third-and-a-half post-Newtonian order, and can be important for binaries involving rapidly spinning black holes. We provide simplified results for spin-aligned circular orbits, and discuss the quantitative importance of the new contributions.

Next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit effects in the gravitational wave flux and orbital phasing of compact binaries

We compute the next-to-next-to-leading order spin–orbit contributions in the total energy flux emitted in gravitational waves by compact binary systems. Such contributions correspond to the post-Newtonian order 3.5PN for maximally spinning compact objects. Continuing our recent work on the next-to-next-to-leading spin–orbit terms at the 3.5PN order in the equations of motion, we obtain the spin–orbit terms in the multipole moments of the compact binary system up to the same order within the multipolar post-Newtonian wave generation formalism. Our calculation of the multipole moments is valid for general orbits and in an arbitrary frame, the moments are then reduced to the center-of-mass frame and the resulting energy flux is specialized to quasi-circular orbits. The test-mass limit of our final result for the flux agrees with the already known Kerr black hole perturbation limit. Furthermore, the various multipole moments of the compact binary reduce in the one-body case to those of a single-boosted Kerr black hole. We briefly discuss the implications of our result for the gravitational wave flux in terms of the binary’s phase evolution, and address its importance for the future detection and parameter estimation of signals in gravitational wave detectors.

The third and a half post-Newtonian gravitational wave quadrupole mode for quasi-circular inspiralling compact binaries

We compute the quadrupole mode of the gravitational waveform of inspiralling compact binaries at the third and half-post-Newtonian (3.5PN) approximation of general relativity. The computation is performed using the multipolar post-Newtonian formalism, and restricted to binaries without spins moving on quasi-circular orbits. The new inputs mainly include the 3.5PN terms in the mass quadrupole moment of the source, and the control of required subdominant corrections to the contributions of hereditary integrals (tails and nonlinear memory effect). The result is given in the form of the quadrupolar mode (2, 2) in a spin-weighted spherical harmonic decomposition of the waveform, and may be used for comparison with the counterpart quantity computed in numerical relativity. It is a step towards the computation of the full 3.5PN waveform, whose knowledge is expected to reduce the errors on the location parameters of the source.

Modified gravity approach based on a preferred time foliation

We propose, in a heuristic way, a relativistic modified gravity model as an alternative to particle dark matter at galactic scales. The model is based on a postulated preferred time foliation described by a dynamical scalar field called the “Khronon”. In coordinates adapted to the foliation it appears as a modification of general relativity violating local Lorentz invariance in a regime of weak gravitational fields. The model is a particular case of non-canonical Einstein-aether theory, but in which the aether vector field is hypersurface orthogonal. We show that this model recovers the phenomenology of the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) in the non-relativistic limit, and predicts the same gravitational lensing as general relativity but with a modified Poisson-type potential.

Dimensional regularization of the IR divergences in the Fokker action of point-particle binaries at the fourth post-Newtonian order

The Fokker action of point-particle binaries at the fourth post-Newtonian (4PN) approximation of general relativity has been determined previously. However two ambiguity parameters associated with infra-red (IR) divergencies of spatial integrals had to be introduced. These two parameters were fixed by comparison with gravitational self-force (GSF) calculations of the conserved energy and periastron advance for circular orbits in the test-mass limit. In the present paper together with a companion paper, we determine both these ambiguities from first principle, by means of dimensional regularization. Our computation is thus entirely defined within the dimensional regularization scheme, for treating at once the IR and ultra-violet (UV) divergencies. In particular, we obtain crucial contributions coming from the Einstein-Hilbert part of the action and from the non-local tail term in arbitrary dimensions, which resolve the ambiguities.

Non-Gaussianity in the Cosmic Microwave Background Induced by Dipolar Dark Matter

In previous work [L. Blanchet and A. Le Tiec, Phys. Rev. D 80 (2009) 023524], motivated by the phenomenology of dark matter at galactic scales, a model of dipolar dark matter (DDM) was introduced. At linear order in cosmological perturbations, the dynamics of the DDM was shown to be identical to that of standard cold dark matter (CDM). In this paper, the DDM model is investigated at second order in cosmological perturbation theory. We find that the internal energy of the DDM fluid modifies the curvature perturbation generated by CDM with a term quadratic in the dipole field. This correction induces a new type of non-Gaussianity in the bispectrum of the curvature perturbation with respect to standard CDM. Leaving unspecified the primordial amplitude of the dipole field, which could in principle be determined by a more fundamental description of DDM, we find that, in contrast with usual models of primordial non-Gaussianities, the non-Gaussianity induced by DDM increases with time after the radiation-matter equality on super-Hubble scales. This distinctive feature of the DDM model, as compared with standard CDM, could thus provide a specific signature in the CMB and large-scale structure probes of non-Gaussianity.