Topic: Radiative processes in the dynamics of compact binary systems

Speaker: Dr. Gabriel Luz Almeida

Coordinates: PCFT C1124, 16:00, Thursday, September 28

Abstract: The recent detections of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries by the LIGO and Virgo interferometers not only opened a new window of observation into the Universe but also revived interest in the study of the relativistic two-body problem. In particular, in the mid-2000s this problem gained a field-theoretical format, being then described as an effective field theory. In this new framework, the different scales involved in the problem define different dynamical regions: on one hand, the short-scale of potential modes describes the conservative interaction between the two bodies, on the other, the long-distance scales account for gravitational-wave processes. Although at lower orders quantities in these two regions can be separately accounted for, at higher orders gravitational radiation starts to affect the conservative dynamics of the system via radiation-effect effects. In this talk, we discuss the state-of-the-art progress towards the complete understanding of radiation-reaction effects on the conservative two-body dynamics.