Effect of gravitational radiation on the evolution and spins of binary systems

Abstract

By taking into account the torque arising from gravitational radiation reaction, it is shown that the spins of spherically symetrical components of binary systems remain unchanged, while those of non-spherical components will vary. The separation between the non-spherical symmetrical components decreases faster than that of the corresponding two point or spherically symmetrical mass system. In some cases, an initially synchronized binary system will definitely not remain synchronized. In systems with negligible viscosity such that the tidal lag is always small, the spins would decrease and may possibly become retrograde.