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Abstract |
To date, gravitational wave detections have been limited to those from quasi-
circular binary mergers. However, a significant percentage of mergers could have
measurable residual eccentricities, resulting from either external perturbations
of the system or short timescales between formation and merger of the binary.
Understanding how the orbits of such binaries evolve could aid in creating
useful eccentric gravitational waveform templates as well as provide
astrophysical information about the environment and formation channels of these
systems. We have analyzed the long-term evolution of non-spinning, highly
eccentric binaries of general mass ratios, incorporating gravitational radiation
reactions at 4.5 post-Newtonian order, including leading tail effects. We have
developed accurate analytic expressions for the binary’s eccentricity and total
inspiral time as a function of its late-time gravitational wave frequency, and
of its initial energy and angular momentum. We will discuss our results and
their implications for eccentric binary gravitational wave detection. |
