Post-Newtonian theory in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes

Abstract

We develop the post-Newtonian framework for the near-zone dynamics of a binary in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetime. We consider a binary interacting via a free scalar field in a fixed (A)dS background in $D+1$ spacetime dimensions, with $D\ge3$ and odd. Using multipole expansion and re-summation techniques, we solve for the field degrees of freedom to obtain an effective particle description in the form of a Fokker action. We derive the equations of motion for the binary up to second post-Newtonian (2PN) order and obtain the corresponding 2PN Hamiltonian and conserved charges in phase space. We show that the conformal algebra, corresponding to the isometry algebra of the (A)dS background, is realised in phase space as a curvature-dependent deformation of the Poincare algebra at each PN order. Our results provide a systematic extension of post-Newtonian effective dynamics to finite-curvature backgrounds. This could serve as a useful framework for studying bound-state dynamics in (A)dS as well as in the corresponding holographic CFT.