The Overlap of Numerical Relativity, Perturbation Theory and Post-Newtonian Theory in the Binary Black Hole Problem

Abstract

Inspiralling and coalescing binary black holes are promising sources of gravitational radiation. The orbital motion and gravitational-wave emission of such system can be modelled using a variety of approximation schemes and numerical methods in general relativity: the post-Newtonian formalism, black hole perturbation theory, numerical relativity simulations, and the effective one-body model. We review recent work at the multiple interfaces of these analytical and numerical techniques, emphasizing the use of coordinate-invariant relationships to perform meaningful comparisons. Such comparisons provide independent checks of the validity of the various calculations, they inform the development of a universal, semi-analytical model of the binary dynamics and gravitational-wave emission, and they help to delineate the respective domains of validity of each approximation method. For instance, several recent comparisons suggest that perturbation theory may find applications in a broader range of physical problems than previously thought, including the radiative inspiral of intermediate mass-ratio and comparable-mass black hole binaries.

35 pages, 9 figures; invited review for IJMPD; v2: references added, matches published version

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Cited by in corpus (40)

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• Complete waveform model for compact binaries on eccentric orbits
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