Dynamics of extended bodies in a Kerr spacetime with spin-induced quadrupole tensor

Abstract

The features of equatorial motion of an extended body in Kerr spacetime are investigated in the framework of the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model. The body is assumed to stay at quasi-equilibrium and respond instantly to external perturbations. Besides the mass, it is completely determined by its spin, the multipolar expansion being truncated at the quadrupole order, with a spin-induced quadrupole tensor. The study of the radial effective potential allows to analytically determine the ISCO shift due to spin and the associated frequency of the last circular orbit.