Title:	Gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries: Energy loss and waveform to second-post-Newtonian order
Authors:	Blanchet, Luc Damour, Thibault Iyer, B.R.
Issue Date:	15-May-1995
Publisher:	The American Physical Society
Citation:	Physical Review D, 1995, Vol.51, 5360-5386
Abstract:	Gravitational waves generated by inspiralling compact binaries are investigated to the second-post-Newtonian (2PN) approximation of general relativity. Using a recently developed 2PN-accurate wave generation formalism, we compute the gravitational waveform and associated energy loss rate from a binary system of point masses moving on a quasicircular orbit. The crucial new input is our computation of the 2PN-accurate ‘‘source’’ quadrupole moment of the binary. Tails in both the waveform and energy loss rate at infinity are explicitly computed. Gravitational radiation reaction effects on the orbital frequency and phase of the binary are deduced from the energy loss. In the limiting case of a very small mass ratio between the two bodies we recover the results obtained by black hole perturbation methods. We find that finite mass ratio effects are very significant as they increase the 2PN contribution to the phase by up to 52%. The results of this paper should be of use when deciphering the signals observed by the future LIGO-VIRGO network of gravitational-wave detectors.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/2289/1289
ISSN:	1550-7998 (print)
Alternative Location:	http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v51/p5360
Copyright:	(1995) by the American Physical Society
Appears in Collections:	Research Papers (TP)

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