title: Gravitational self-force correction to the binding energy of compact binary systems.
abstract: Using the first law of binary black-hole mechanics, we compute the binding energy E and total angular momentum J of two nonspinning compact objects moving on circular orbits with frequency Ω, at leading order beyond the test-particle approximation. By minimizing E(Ω) we recover the exact frequency shift of the Schwarzschild innermost stable circular orbit induced by the conservative piece of the gravitational self-force. Comparing our results for the coordinate-invariant relation E(J) to those recently obtained from numerical simulations of comparable-mass nonspinning black-hole binaries, we find a remarkably good agreement, even in the strong-field regime. Our findings confirm that the domain of validity of perturbative calculations may extend well beyond the extreme mass-ratio limit.
authors.affiliation: Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics & Joint Space-Science Institute, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le Tiec
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barausse
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buonanno