- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review D

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Impact of a third body on binary neutron star tidal interactions

Meet Khatri1,2, Ankur Renduchintala1,3, Sayak Datta4,5,*, and Sajal Mukherjee1,†

  • *Contact author: sayak.datta@gssi.it
  • †Contact author: sajal.mukherjee@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 114, 084057 – Published 20 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vd8b-7845

Abstract

To model a compact binary coalescence, it is commonly assumed that the binary evolves in isolation. In the present work, we relax this assumption by introducing a distant third body and investigating how the third body would affect the binary evolution. We treat this problem perturbatively and study tidal interaction in the binary due to the third body’s presence. We introduce appropriate modifications to the equations governing the orbital motions and the evolution equations of the binary component’s quadrupole moment. We compute the radiated energy and accumulated dephasing for the binary. Our findings indicate that for extreme-mass-ratio inspirals, these effects would not be significant. However, for binaries such as intermediate-mass-ratio inspirals, these effects are more relevant, and in some scenarios, the accumulated dephasing can reach up to O(1) radians.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (71)

  1. M. Evans et al., arXiv:2109.09882.
  2. A. Abac et al., J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2026) 081.
  3. M. Colpi et al. (LISA Collaboration), arXiv:2402.07571.
  4. J. Luo et al. (TianQin Collaboration), Classical Quantum Gravity 33, 035010 (2016).
  5. M. Bailes et al., Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 344 (2021).
  6. P. A. Seoane et al. (LISA Collaboration), Living Rev. Relativity 26, 2 (2023).
  7. N. Afshordi et al. (LISA Consortium Waveform Working Group Collaboration), Living Rev. Relativity 28, 9 (2025).
  8. B. Bonga, H. Yang, and S. A. Hughes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 101103 (2019).
  9. P. Gupta, B. Bonga, Alvin J. K. Chua, and T. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. D 104, 044056 (2021).
  10. P. Gupta, L. Speri, B. Bonga, Alvin J. K. Chua, and T. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. D 106, 104001 (2022).
  11. F. Camilloni, G. Grignani, T. Harmark, R. Oliveri, M. Orselli, and D. Pica, Phys. Rev. D 107, 084011 (2023).
  12. E. Grilli, M. Orselli, D. Pereñiguez, and D. Pica, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 02 (2025) 028.
  13. X. Chen and W.-B. Han, Commun. Phys. 1, 53 (2018).
  14. J. S. Santos, V. Cardoso, J. Natário, and M. van de Meent, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 211402 (2025).
  15. F. Peißker, M. Zajacek, L. Labadie, E. Bordier, A. Eckart, M. Melamed, and V. Karas, Nat. Commun. 15, 10608 (2024).
  16. C. P. L. Berry, S. A. Hughes, C. F. Sopuerta, A. J. K. Chua, A. Heffernan, K. Holley-Bockelmann, D. P. Mihaylov, M. C. Miller, and A. Sesana, Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 51, 42 (2019), https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019BAAS...51c..42B.
  17. H. Audley, S. Babak, J. Baker, E. Barausse, P. Bender, E. Berti, P. Binetruy, M. Born, D. Bortoluzzi, J. Camp, C. Caprini, V. Cardoso, M. Colpi, J. Conklin, N. Cornish, C. Cutler et al., arXiv:1702.00786.
  18. A. Klein et al., Phys. Rev. D 93, 024003 (2016).
  19. M. Volonteri et al., Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 498, 2219 (2020).
  20. M. Arca-Sedda, P. Amaro-Seoane, and X. Chen, Astron. Astrophys. 652, A54 (2021).
  21. J. Luo et al., Living Rev. Relativity 29, 1 (2026), https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026LRR....29....1L, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41114-025-00063-2.
  22. P. Ajith et al., J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 01 (2025) 108.
  23. M. Evans et al., arXiv:2306.13745.
  24. F. Camilloni, T. Harmark, G. Grignani, M. Orselli, and D. Pica, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 531, 1884 (2024).
  25. Y. Meiron, B. Kocsis, and A. Loeb, Astrophys. J. 834, 200 (2017).
  26. W.-B. Han and X. Chen, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.: Lett. 485, L29 (2019).
  27. Y. Yin, J. Mathews, Alvin J. K. Chua, and X. Chen, Phys. Rev. D 111, 103007 (2025).
  28. F. Antonini and H. B. Perets, Astrophys. J. 757, 27 (2012).
  29. E. Michaely and H. B. Perets, Astrophys. J. 794, 122 (2014).
  30. N. C. Stone, B. D. Metzger, and Z. Haiman, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 464, 946 (2017).
  31. F. Antonini and F. A. Rasio, Astrophys. J. 831, 187 (2016).
  32. B.-M. Hoang, S. Naoz, B. Kocsis, F. A. Rasio, and F. Dosopoulou, Astrophys. J. 856, 140 (2018).
  33. M. Freitag, P. Amaro-Seoane, and V. Kalogera, Astrophys. J. 649, 91 (2006).
  34. L. Visinelli, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 30, 2130006 (2021).
  35. V. Cardoso and P. Pani, Living Rev. Relativity 22, 4 (2019).
  36. G. Fragione and N. Leigh, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 480, 5160 (2018).
  37. G. Fragione and O. Bromberg, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 488, 4370 (2019).
  38. V. Cardoso, F. Duque, and G. Khanna, Phys. Rev. D 103, L081501 (2021).
  39. M. Cocco, G. Grignani, T. Harmark, M. Orselli, and D. Pica, Phys. Rev. D 112, 044010 (2025).
  40. M. Cocco, G. Grignani, T. Harmark, M. Orselli, D. Panella, and D. Pica, Phys. Rev. D 114, 024046 (2026).
  41. H. Goldstein, Classical Mechanics (Pearson Education India, New Delhi 2011).
  42. M. J. Valtonen and H. Karttunen, The Three-Body Problem (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2006).
  43. S. Soderhjelm, Astron. Astrophys. 141, 232 (1984), https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984A&A...141..232S.
  44. P. Saini, L. Zwick, J. Takátsy, C. Rowan, K. Hendriks, G. Fabj, D. J. D’Orazio, and J. Samsing, Phys. Rev. D 112, 103047 (2025).
  45. M. Martin Barandiaran, S. Kuroyanagi, and S. Nesseris, Classical Quantum Gravity 41, 095002 (2024).
  46. E. E. Flanagan and T. Hinderer, Phys. Rev. D 77, 021502(R) (2008).
  47. B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations), Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 161101 (2017).
  48. R. Nandi and P. Char, Astrophys. J. 857, 12 (2018).
  49. P. Landry and R. Essick, Phys. Rev. D 99, 084049 (2019).
  50. R. Essick, P. Landry, and D. E. Holz, Phys. Rev. D 101, 063007 (2020).
  51. P. Landry, R. Essick, and K. Chatziioannou, Phys. Rev. D 101, 123007 (2020).
  52. K. Chatziioannou, Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 52, 109 (2020).
  53. C. Pacilio, A. Maselli, M. Fasano, and P. Pani, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 101101 (2022).
  54. B. Biswas, Astrophys. J. 926, 75 (2022).
  55. B. Biswas and S. Datta, Phys. Rev. D 106, 043012 (2022).
  56. T. Hinderer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 181101 (2016).
  57. J. Steinhoff, T. Hinderer, A. Buonanno, and A. Taracchini, Phys. Rev. D 94, 104028 (2016).
  58. P. Schmidt and T. Hinderer, Phys. Rev. D 100, 021501(R) (2019).
  59. G. Pratten, P. Schmidt, and T. Hinderer, Nat. Commun. 11, 2553 (2020).
  60. J. G. Hills, Nature (London) 331, 687 (1988).
  61. E. Addison, P. Laguna, and S. Larson, arXiv:1501.07856.
  62. H. Suzuki, Y. Nakamura, and S. Yamada, Phys. Rev. D 102, 124063 (2020).
  63. D. Souami, J. Cresson, C. Biernacki, and F. Pierret, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 496, 4287–4297 (2020).
  64. E. E. Flanagan and S. A. Hughes, Phys. Rev. D 57, 4566 (1998).
  65. Z. E. Wardell, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 334, 149 (2002).
  66. A. Einstein, Sitzungsber. König. Preuß. Akad. Wiss. 1918, 154 (1918), https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1918SPAW.......154E.
  67. P. C. Peters, Phys. Rev. 136, 1224 (1964).
  68. W. Tichy, E. E. Flanagan, and E. Poisson, Phys. Rev. D 61, 104015 (2000).
  69. V. Cardoso, G. Ficarra, J. Redondo-Yuste, and J. S. d. Santos, Phys. Rev. D 114, 024065 (2026).
  70. M. Campanelli, C. O. Lousto, and Y. Zlochower, Phys. Rev. D 77, 101501(R) (2008).
  71. L. Lindblom, B. J. Owen, and D. A. Brown, Phys. Rev. D 78, 124020 (2008).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 084057– Published 20 October, 2026
  • Received 9 November 2025
  • Accepted 25 September 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button

© 2026 American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation