paper

Ballistic orbits in Schwarzschild space-time and gravitational waves from EMR binary mergers

arXiv:1406.4282 · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/32/1/015012

Abstract

We describe a special class of ballistic geodesics in Schwarzschild space-time, extending to the horizon in the infinite past and future of observer time, which are characterized by the property that they are in 1-1 correspondence, and completely degenerate in energy and angular momentum, with stable circular orbits. We derive analytic expressions for the source terms in the Regge-Wheeler and Zerilli-Moncrief equations for a point-particle moving on such a ballistic orbit, and compute the gravitational waves emitted during the infall in an Extreme Mass Ratio black-hole binary coalescence. In this way a geodesic description for the plunge phase of compact binaries is obtained.

20 pages, 9 figures Revised version: added clarifying remarks to introduction and summary; additional table; results and conclusions unchanged. Accepted version for Class. Quant. Grav

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