Evolutionary dynamics while trapped in resonance: a Keplerian binary system perturbed by gravitational radiation

Abstract

The method of averaging is used to investigate the phenomenon of capture into resonance for a model that describes a Keplerian binary system influenced by radiation damping and external normally incident periodic gravitational radiation. The dynamical evolution of the binary orbit while trapped in resonance is elucidated using a second-order partially averaged system. This method provides a theoretical framework which can be used to explain the main evolutionary dynamics of a physical system that has been trapped in resonance.