Gravitational radiation reaction affects the dynamics of gravitationally bound binary systems. Here we focus on the leading “tail” term which modifies binary dynamics at fourth post-Newtonian order, as first computed by Blanchet and Damour. We reproduce this result using effective field theory techniques in the framework of the Lagrangian formalism suitably extended to include dissipation effects. We recover the known logarithmic tail term, consistently with the recent interpretation of the logarithmic tail term in the mass parameter, as a renormalization group effect of the Bondi mass of the system.

• Received 4 January 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.87.044056