Leor Barack (Southampton): Self-force approach to the two-body problem in GR

Monday 6 Jul 2020, 15:15 → 16:45 Europe/Berlin

The radiative dynamics in a gravitationally-bound two-body system with a small mass ratio can be described using a perturbative approach, whereby corrections to the geodesic motion of the smaller object (due to radiation reaction, internal structure, etc.) are accounted for order by order in the mass ratio, invoking the notion of "gravitational self-force". The prospect of observing Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals (EMRIs) with LISA has been motivating a program to obtain a rigorous formulation of the self-force and apply it numerically to describe the gravitational-wave signature of astrophysical EMRI systems. I will review the theory of gravitational self-force in curved spacetime, describe how this theory is being implemented in actual calculations, and discuss current status and open problems. I will highlight the way in which self-force calculations informs the development of other approaches to the two-body problem.