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arxiv: 2603.22467 · v1 · submitted 2026-03-23 · 🌀 gr-qc

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High-order effective-one-body tidal interactions and gravitational scattering

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Pith reviewed 2026-05-15 00:26 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🌀 gr-qc
keywords effective-one-bodypost-Minkowskiantidal interactionsgravitational scatteringneutron starsnumerical relativitygravitational waves
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The pith

High-order post-Minkowskian tidal effects incorporated into the effective-one-body formalism yield better agreement with neutron-star scattering data.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper maps recent post-Minkowskian scattering results into the tidal sector of four versions of the effective-one-body formalism. This includes both adiabatic and post-adiabatic gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic quadrupolar effects carried to next-to-next-to-leading post-Minkowskian order. The resulting Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB model is then compared directly with numerical-relativity simulations of neutron-star scattering events. The comparison shows visibly closer agreement than earlier EOB models or standalone post-Minkowskian expansions. The construction supplies a concrete route toward accurate tidal modeling in post-Minkowskian effective-one-body waveforms and flags the need for stronger resummation methods when the same ideas are applied to bound orbits.

Core claim

Using state-of-the-art post-Minkowskian scattering results, the authors improve the tidal sector of the effective-one-body formalism by adding next-to-next-to-leading-order adiabatic and post-adiabatic gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic quadrupolar tidal interactions. The resulting Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB model produces improved agreement with recent numerical-relativity data on neutron-star scattering relative to prior EOB models and pure post-Minkowskian expansions.

What carries the argument

Direct mapping of post-Minkowskian scattering results for tidal interactions into the effective-one-body Hamiltonian and radiation-reaction terms, yielding the Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB model.

If this is right

  • Tidal contributions to neutron-star binary dynamics during close encounters become more reliable at higher post-Minkowskian orders.
  • A concrete starting point exists for building the tidal sector of fully post-Minkowskian effective-one-body waveform models.
  • Post-Newtonian effective-one-body treatments of bound orbits will require improved resummation to maintain comparable accuracy.
  • Gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic tidal effects can be carried consistently to next-to-next-to-leading post-Minkowskian order in scattering calculations.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same mapping procedure could be tested on spinning neutron-star configurations or on higher multipole tidal moments once corresponding post-Minkowskian scattering data become available.
  • Extension to circularized bound orbits may still demand an independent calibration step to compensate for the resummation issues already visible in post-Newtonian effective-one-body models.
  • Future numerical-relativity runs at larger scattering angles or higher energies would provide a direct test of whether the improvement persists outside the current data range.

Load-bearing premise

Post-Minkowskian scattering results for tidal interactions can be inserted into the effective-one-body Hamiltonian and radiation reaction without further resummation or calibration that would change the reported improvement.

What would settle it

A new numerical-relativity scattering simulation at the same or higher post-Minkowskian order in which the improved Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB model deviates from the data by more than existing EOB models.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2603.22467 by Andrea Placidi, Joan Fontbut\'e, Malte Schulze, Piero Rettegno, Sebastiano Bernuzzi, Thibault Damour.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. Comparison of the tidal scattering angle as a function [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p016_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: shows the tidal scattering angle computed with the potentials in Eq. (99) truncated at successive PM orders. As both the LJBL and w-EOB gauges give similar results we decided to focus on the latter. Both the conservative and radiative (adiabatic) tidal scattering an￾gles individually show a convergent behaviour, although to a value that is larger than the NR tidal scattering an￾gle for small angular moment… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: FIG. 3. Comparison of [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p018_3.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Using state-of-the-art scattering results in post-Minkowskian (PM) gravity, we improve the tidal sector of four different flavors of the effective-one-body (EOB) formalism. We notably explore both adiabatic and post-adiabatic gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic quadrupolar tidal effects at the next-to-next-to-leading PM-order. When comparing the predictions of the so-constructed Lagrange-PM-tidal version of EOB to recent numerical-relativity data on the scattering of neutron stars, we find improved agreement with respect to existing EOB models and PM expansions. Our work lays the foundation for the development of an accurate tidal sector of the PM EOB models, and points out the need to explore improved resummation schemes in PN EOB for bound and circularized orbits.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 1 minor

Summary. The paper improves the tidal sector of four EOB models by directly inserting next-to-next-to-leading post-Minkowskian (PM) gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic quadrupolar tidal results into the Hamiltonian and radiation-reaction force, yielding a Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB. It reports improved agreement between this construction and recent NR data on neutron-star scattering relative to prior EOB models and PM expansions, while noting the need for better resummation in the PN sector for bound orbits.

Significance. If the direct PM-to-EOB mapping is robust, the work supplies a concrete, higher-order tidal upgrade to EOB scattering predictions without additional free parameters, strengthening the case for PM-based EOB models. The numerical NR comparison constitutes a falsifiable test of the construction and identifies resummation as a priority for future bound-orbit applications.

major comments (1)
  1. [EOB Hamiltonian construction] In the construction of the Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB (the section detailing insertion of NNLO PM results into the Hamiltonian and radiation-reaction), the manuscript performs a direct substitution without explicit resummation. Because the paper itself states that improved resummation schemes are needed in the PN sector, it is unclear whether the reported NR improvement can be attributed solely to the higher-order PM tidal content or whether the mapping step implicitly affects the outcome. This point is load-bearing for the central claim.
minor comments (1)
  1. [Abstract] The abstract would benefit from a brief quantitative statement of the improvement (e.g., reduction in scattering-angle deviation or specific metric used) to make the NR comparison claim more precise.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful reading and constructive feedback on our manuscript. We address the major comment below.

read point-by-point responses
  1. Referee: In the construction of the Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB (the section detailing insertion of NNLO PM results into the Hamiltonian and radiation-reaction), the manuscript performs a direct substitution without explicit resummation. Because the paper itself states that improved resummation schemes are needed in the PN sector, it is unclear whether the reported NR improvement can be attributed solely to the higher-order PM tidal content or whether the mapping step implicitly affects the outcome. This point is load-bearing for the central claim.

    Authors: The direct substitution of the NNLO PM gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic quadrupolar tidal terms into the EOB Hamiltonian and radiation-reaction force is the explicit construction of the Lagrange-PM-tidal EOB, as described in the manuscript. This approach incorporates the high-order PM results in a parameter-free manner. The reported improvement in agreement with NR neutron-star scattering data is shown relative to both prior EOB models (using lower-order tidal sectors) and standalone PM expansions. Since the sole modification from those prior EOB versions is the inclusion of these NNLO terms via the described substitution, the enhancement is attributable to the higher-order PM tidal content. The manuscript's comment on the need for improved resummation applies to the PN sector for bound and circularized orbits; the NR comparisons here concern scattering (unbound) trajectories, for which the direct PM insertion is the appropriate upgrade. We will add a clarifying paragraph in the revised manuscript to make this attribution and the scattering-versus-bound distinction explicit. revision: partial

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity; PM inputs and NR validation remain independent

full rationale

The paper imports external post-Minkowskian scattering results at NNLO to augment the tidal sector of existing EOB models, then compares the resulting predictions against separate numerical-relativity scattering simulations. No equation reduces the claimed improvement to a parameter fitted inside the NR dataset, no self-citation defines the central result by construction, and the abstract explicitly flags the need for additional resummation work rather than asserting that the direct mapping is already complete. The derivation chain therefore rests on independent external benchmarks and does not collapse to its own inputs.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on the assumption that PM scattering amplitudes can be consistently inserted into the EOB framework without introducing new free parameters beyond those already present in standard EOB. No explicit free parameters, axioms, or invented entities are stated in the abstract.

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Reference graph

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