Effective field theories of gravity and compact binary dynamics: A Snowmass 2021 whitepaper

Understand

In this whitepaper, I describe modern applications of effective field theory (EFT) techniques to classical and quantum gravity, with relevance to problems in astrophysics and cosmology.

• As in applications of EFT to high-energy, nuclear, or condensed matter physics, the Wilsonian paradigm based on decoupling of short distance scales via renormalization group evolution remains a powerful organizing principle in the context of gravity.
• However, the presence of spacetime geometry brings in new elements ( non-trivial time-dependence, cosmological or black hole event horizons) which necessitate the introduction of novel field theoretic methods not usually encountered in applications of EFTs to physics at the energy and intensity frontiers.
• After a brief overview of recent developments in the application of EFT methods to gravity, I will focus on the EFT description of compact binary dynamics, including an overview of some of its applications to the experimental program in gravitational wave detection at LIGO/VIRGO and other observatories.