ISBN: | 978-5-5093-3136-7 |
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The two-body problem in general relativity is to determine the motion and gravitational field of two bodies interacting with one another by gravitation, as described by the field equations of general relativity. Solving the Kepler problem is essential to calculate the bending of light by gravity and the motion of a planet orbiting its sun. Solutions are also used to describe the motion of binary stars around each other, and estimate their gradual loss of energy through gravitational radiation. It is customary to assume that both bodies are point-like, so that tidal forces and the specifics of their material composition can be neglected.