New spin on dissipative tides: First-post-Newtonian effects in compact binary inspirals
Phys. Rev. D 114, 084028 – Published 8 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xqdm-5tyc
Abstract
Tidal dissipation in spinning compact binaries imprints characteristic corrections on the late-inspiral gravitational-wave signal. We develop a next-to-leading order post-Newtonian description of dissipative, electric-quadrupolar tides in spinning compact binaries, deriving the center-of-mass equations of motion, a generalized energy-balance law, and the corresponding Fourier-phase correction for quasicircular orbits with spins aligned or antialigned with the orbital angular momentum. Using the most general, low-frequency, linear tidal response compatible with rotational symmetry, we show that spin-induced tidal dissipation enters the gravitational-wave phase at 2.5 post-Newtonian order and carries a logarithmic frequency dependence, so it is not degenerate with the coalescence phase. For binary black holes, our dissipative flux reproduces horizon absorption in the extreme-mass-ratio limit. These results provide new waveform ingredients for precision modeling of spinning compact binaries in the high-signal-to-noise era.
