Confirming and improving post-Newtonian and effective-one-body results from self-force computations along eccentric orbits around a Schwarzschild black hole

TL;DR

This paper analytically computes high-order post-Newtonian corrections for eccentric orbits around a Schwarzschild black hole, improving effective-one-body models and validating them against numerical self-force data.

Contribution

It provides the second-order-in-eccentricity correction to the redshift function and refines the second radial potential in the EOB formalism, with validation against numerical data.

Findings

Good agreement with numerical self-force data within error bars.

First analytical checks of 4PN order dynamics for comparable masses.

Enhanced accuracy of EOB models for eccentric orbits.

Abstract

We analytically compute, through the six-and-a-half post-Newtonian order, the second-order-in-eccentricity piece of the Detweiler-Barack-Sago gauge-invariant redshift function for a small mass in eccentric orbit around a Schwarzschild black hole. Using the first law of mechanics for eccentric orbits [A. Le Tiec, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 92}, 084021 (2015)] we transcribe our result into a correspondingly accurate knowledge of the second radial potential of the effective-one-body formalism [A. Buonanno and T. Damour, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 59}, 084006 (1999)]. We compare our newly acquired analytical information to several different numerical self-force data and find good agreement, within estimated error bars. We also obtain, for the first time, independent analytical checks of the recently derived, comparable-mass fourth-post-Newtonian order dynamics [T. Damour, P. Jaranowski and G. Shaefer, Phys. Rev. D {\bf 89}, 064058 (2014)].