The orbital evolution and gravitational waves of OJ 287 in the 4th post-Newtonian order

Abstract

Abstract We computed the orbital evolution and the emitted gravitational radiation of the supermassive black hole binary OJ 287. Here we used the initial data provided by the outburst structure of the system. We considered the spin–spin, spin–orbit, and the next-to-next leading order fourth post-Newtonian (4PN) corrections in our analysis. In this way, we could make an accurate examination of unstable orbits (3M < r < 6M) of the secondary black hole. We tested the 4PN terms by analyzing the total and radiated energy, compared the post-Newtonian parameters and the separation of the two black holes for 3PN and 4PN. In conclusion, the 4PN corrections provided a significantly more accurate tool for analyzing unstable orbits than earlier 3PN terms. Furthermore, in this paper, we show the strain of gravitational waves emitted by OJ 287 during its complete orbital evolution including unstable orbits.