We present an improved version of the approximate scheme for generating
inspirals of test-bodies into a Kerr black hole recently developed by
Glampedakis, Hughes and Kennefick. Their original "hybrid" scheme was based on
combining exact relativistic expressions for the evolution of the orbital
elements (the semi-latus rectum p and eccentricity e) with approximate,
weak-field, formula for the energy and angular momentum fluxes, amended by the
assumption of constant inclination angle, iota, during the inspiral. Despite
the fact that the resulting inspirals were overall well-behaved, certain
pathologies remained for orbits in the strong field regime and for orbits which
are nearly circular and/or nearly polar. In this paper we eliminate these
problems by incorporating an array of improvements in the approximate fluxes.
Firstly, we add certain corrections which ensure the correct behaviour of the
fluxes in the limit of vanishing eccentricity and/or 90 degrees inclination.
Secondly, we use higher order post-Newtonian formulae, adapted for generic
orbits. Thirdly, we drop the assumption of constant inclination. Instead, we
first evolve the Carter constant by means of an approximate post-Newtonian
expression and subsequently extract the evolution of iota. Finally, we improve
the evolution of circular orbits by using fits to the angular momentum and
inclination evolution determined by Teukolsky based calculations. As an
application of the improved scheme we provide a sample of generic Kerr
inspirals and for the specific case of nearly circular orbits we locate the
critical radius where orbits begin to decircularise under radiation reaction.
These easy-to-generate inspirals should become a useful tool for exploring LISA
data analysis issues and may ultimately play a role in source detection.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, some typos corrected, short section on
conservative corrections added, minor changes for consistency with published
versio