HET-Discovery seminar: Justin Vines

Speaker: Justin Vines

Title: Scattering of two spinning black holes in post-Minkowskian gravity

Abstract: The advent of gravitational-wave astronomy motivates detailed study of the classical gravitational dynamics of spinning black holes in binary systems.  Analytic calculations to those ends have traditionally focused on post-Newtonian perturbation theory (expansion in 1/c), naturally paired with an expansion in low spins.  We will discuss a complimentary approach using post-Minkowskian perturbation theory (expansion in G, working to all orders in 1/c), paired with a nonperturbative treatment of the spins.  New results for two-spinning-black-hole scattering at the first post-Minkowskian order, O(G^1), given in simple closed forms to all orders in spin, reveal remarkable relationships between arbitrary-mass-ratio two-body dynamics and test-body dynamics in a fixed background, and between the dynamics of spinning and nonspinning black holes (see 1709.06016).  After summarizing these results and their context, we will comment on the potential to apply contemporary scattering amplitudes techniques to the study of classical gravitational dynamics at higher orders in G.