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Advancing the effective-one-body framework in the test-mass limit

Nami Nishimura1,2, Alessandra Buonanno1,2, Guglielmo Faggioli1, Maarten van de Meent1,3, and Gaurav Khanna4,5

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 124034 – Published 11 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/411r-k2wm

Abstract

We present SEOB-TML, an enhanced effective-one-body (EOB) framework for the test-mass limit, optimized for quasicircular, spin-aligned binary black holes. On the dynamical side, we introduce a quadrupole-factorized (Q-factorized) prescription that maps the total energy flux—including horizon absorption—onto a single (2, 2) mode baseline. This approach effectively captures higher-order multipole contributions without explicit mode summation, while simultaneously leading to a dramatic reduction in fractional flux errors. To ensure a smooth transition to the postmerger stage, we replace traditional next-to-quasicircular corrections with a phenomenological Ansatz, enabling a flexible, mode-dependent attachment prescription. For the merger-ringdown stage, we utilize quasinormal mode coefficients extracted from numerical waveforms via qnmfinder to explicitly model mode-mixing effects. These enhancements lead to a substantial reduction in residuals, capturing the complex physical modulations prominent in retrograde configurations. Additionally, we implement the (2, 0) mode across the full waveform, further extending the model’s physical coverage and accuracy. Overall, our framework generates highly accurate late inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for extreme-mass-ratio systems, significantly reducing dephasing and improving the near-merger reconstruction. We demonstrate the performance of SEOB-TML against the current state-of-the-art SEOBNRv5HM model, highlighting how our specialized developments extend the reliability of the EOB framework into the test-mass limit.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 124034– Published 11 June, 2026
  • Received 12 March 2026
  • Accepted 12 May 2026
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