Classical Gravitational Bremsstrahlung from a Worldline Quantum Field Theory

Area of Science:

• Gravitational wave physics
• Black hole dynamics
• Quantum field theory

Background:

• Classical scattering of black holes is crucial for understanding gravitational waves.
• Previous calculations by Kovacs and Thorne provide a baseline for comparison.
• The post-Minkowskian expansion is a key tool for analyzing strong-gravity regimes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute the far-field time-domain waveform of gravitational waves from two spinless black holes.
• To reproduce existing results economically using a new formalism.
• To extract radiated energy and angular momentum from the waveform.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the worldline quantum field theory formalism.
• Applying the post-Minkowskian expansion at leading order.
• Analyzing the far-field time-domain waveform.

Main Results:

• The leading-order waveform for black hole scattering was computed.
• Previous results were reproduced efficiently.
• Leading-order total radiated angular momentum and energy were extracted, including differential results.

Conclusions:

• The worldline quantum field theory approach provides an economical method for gravitational wave calculations.
• This work enhances predictions for gravitational waves in high-velocity black hole encounters.
• The findings are significant for improving gravitational wave astronomy and astrophysics.