Post-Newtonian Theory and Dimensional Regularization

Inspiralling compact binaries are ideally suited for application of a high-order post-Newtonian (PN) gravitational wave generation formalism. To be observed by the LIGO and VIRGO detectors, these very relativistic systems (with orbital velocities v ∼ 0.5c in the last rotations) require high-accuracy templates predicted by general relativity theory. Recent calculations of the motion and gravitational radiation of compact binaries at the 3PN approximation using the Hadamard self-field regularization have left undetermined a few dimensionless coefficients called ambiguity parameters. In this article we review the application of dimensional self-field regularization, within Einstein’s classical general relativity formulated in D space-time dimensions, which finally succeeded in clearing up the problem, by uniquely fixing the values of all the ambiguity parameters.