Quasi-stationary binary inspiral II: Radiation-balanced boundary conditions

The quasi-stationary method for black hole binary inspiral is an approximation for studying strong field effects while suppressing radiation reaction. In this paper we use a nonlinear scalar field toy model (i) to explain the underlying method of approximating binary motion by periodic orbits with radiation; (ii) to show how the fields in such a model are found by the solution of a boundary value problem; (iii) to demonstrate how a good approximation to the outgoing radiation can be found by finding fields with a balance of ingoing and outgoing radiation (a generalization of standing waves). PACS numbers: 02.60.Lj, 04.30.Db, 04.20.-q, 04.25.Dm Submitted to: Class. Quantum Grav. ‡ Electronic Address: [email protected] ‖ Current Address: Center for Genomics Research, Karolinska Institutet, Berzelius väg 37, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden Quasi-stationary binary inspiral II: Radiation-balanced boundary conditions 2