The rapid advance in gravitational wave detectors has spurred renewed interest in the two-body problem in general relativity. Two perturbative approaches based on quantum field theory have emerged, one based on scattering amplitudes and the other based on worldlines. We argue that the two approaches are equivalent at an intimate level. By systematic algebraic manipulations through the Schwinger parametrization, the loop integrand in the Kosower-Maybe-O'Connell formalism based on wavepacket scattering becomes identical to the counterpart in the worldline QFT formalism of Mogull et al., as shown explicitly for a simple scalar model as well as electrodynamics at two loops. This makes manifest the cancellations of superclassical divergences and exhibits the emergence of the worldline picture including the classical causality flow.

Next-generation gravitational wave detectors require highly precise predictions for the waveforms from inspiraling black holes and neutron stars. We present advances in binary inspiral dynamics by taking classical limits of scattering amplitudes in perturbative quantum gravity. The amplitudes are calculated efficiently using modern methods for scattering amplitudes, including double copy and generalized unitarity, and loop integration techniques borrowed from collider physics. Classical physics can be extracted by several complementary approaches, including effective field theory, eikonal exponentiation, and observables in wavepacket scattering. For both conservative and dissipative dynamics of binary systems, we obtain new terms in the post-Minksowskian expansion beyond the best previous results from purely classical methods.

[for zoom link please email s.nagy@qmul.ac.uk] Next-generation gravitational wave detectors demand highly precise predictions for waveforms. We present advances in binary inspiral dynamics by taking classical limits of scattering amplitudes in perturbative quantum gravity. The amplitudes are calculated efficiently using modern methods for scattering amplitudes and loop integration techniques developed for colliders. Classical physics can be extracted by several complementary approaches, including effective field theory, eikonal exponentiation, and extrapolation of quantum observables defined by the S-matrix. For both conservative and radiative dynamics, we obtain new terms in the post-Minksowskian expansion which represent first advances in decades.