Radiation-reaction and angular momentum loss at the second Post-Minkowskian order

TL;DR

This paper calculates the change in linear and angular momentum of a binary system under second post-Minkowskian dynamics, confirming previous flux-based results and advancing understanding of gravitational interactions.

Contribution

It provides a direct computation of momentum variation at second post-Minkowskian order, aligning with flux-based approaches and enhancing theoretical precision.

Findings

Agreement with flux-based angular momentum loss calculations

Explicit second-order post-Minkowskian equations-of-motion results

Validation of momentum conservation in gravitational binary systems

Abstract

We compute the variation of the Fokker-Wheeler-Feynman total linear and angular momentum of a gravitationally interacting binary system under the second post-Minkowskian retarded dynamics. The resulting $O(G^2)$ equations-of-motion-based, total change in the system's angular momentum is found to agree with existing computations that assumed balance with angular momentum fluxes in the radiation zone.