The Effective Kerr-Compton Tree Amplitude from Black Hole Perturbation Theory

Abstract

We develop a new method to construct the tree-level Compton amplitude for gravitational-wave scattering off a Kerr black hole in post-Minkowskian effective field theory. Building on previous computations that required physical consistency of the amplitude, the method uses wave scattering functions from black hole perturbation theory to uniquely determine additional contact terms. We illustrate the iterative procedure by deriving explicit expressions up to sixth order in spin, including previously unknown sectors at the fifth and sixth orders in spin. The amplitude features complex transcendental structures and a leading dissipative contact term at sixth order in spin. We verify our result against known results in the literature and reproduce the one-loop tail result from black hole perturbation theory.