Gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries: Energy flux to third post-Newtonian order

The multipolar-post-Minkowskian approach to gravitational radiation is applied to the problem of the generation of waves by the compact binary inspiral. We investigate specifically the third post-Newtonian (3PN) approximation in the total energy flux. The new results are the computation of the mass quadrupole moment of the binary to the 3PN order, and the current quadrupole and mass octupole to the 2PN order. Wave tails and tails of tails in the far zone are included up to the 3.5PN order. The recently derived 3PN equations of binary motion are used to compute the time-derivatives of the moments. We find perfect agreement to the 3.5PN order with perturbation calculations of black holes in the test-mass limit for one body. Technical inputs in our computation include a model of point particles for describing the compact objects, and the Hadamard self-field regularization. Because of a physical incompleteness of the Hadamard regularization at the 3PN order, the energy flux depends on one unknown physical parameter, which is a combination of a parameter \lambda in the equations of motion, and a new parameter \theta coming from the quadrupole moment.Comment: 69 pages, version which includes the correction of an Erratum to be published in Phys. Rev. D (2005

Gravitational-Wave Inspiral of Compact Binary Systems to 7/2 Post-Newtonian Order

The inspiral of compact binaries, driven by gravitational-radiation reaction, is investigated through 7/2 post-Newtonian (3.5PN) order beyond the quadrupole radiation. We outline the derivation of the 3.5PN-accurate binary's center-of-mass energy and emitted gravitational flux. The analysis consistently includes the relativistic effects in the binary's equations of motion and multipole moments, as well as the contributions of tails, and tails of tails, in the wave zone. However the result is not fully determined because of some physical incompleteness, present at the 3PN order, of the model of point-particle and the associated Hadamard-type self-field regularization. The orbital phase, whose prior knowledge is crucial for searching and analyzing the inspiral signal, is computed from the standard energy balance argument.Comment: 12 pages, version which includes the correction of an Erratum to be published in Phys. Rev. D (2005