All Physics Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Physical Review D

Volume

72

Issue

8

Publication Date

2005

First Page

084009

Arxiv Identifier

arXiv:gr-qc/0508049v3

Abstract

The capture of compact bodies by black holes in galactic nuclei is an important prospective source for low frequency gravitational wave detectors, such as the planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna. This paper calculates, using a semirelativistic approximation, the total energy and angular momentum lost to gravitational radiation by compact bodies on very high eccentricity orbits passing close to a supermassive, nonspinning black hole; these quantities determine the characteristics of the orbital evolution necessary to estimate the capture rate. The semirelativistic approximation improves upon treatments which use orbits at Newtonian order and quadrupolar radiation emission, and matches well onto accurate Teukolsky simulations for low eccentricity orbits. Formulas are presented for the semirelativistic energy and angular momentum fluxes as a function of general orbital parameters.

Comments

See also:

Erratum: Jonathan R. Gair, Daniel J. Kennefick, and Shane L. Larson, Erratum: Semirelativistic approximation to gravitational radiation from encounters with nonspinning black holes [Phys. Rev. D 72, 084009 (2005)], Phys. Rev. D 74, 109901 (2006).

Published by American Physical Society in Physical Review D. Publisher version is available through link above.

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