Circular closed orbits – Newtonian Theory vs.

GR

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu

Spring 2021

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 1/9

Review

The Schwarzschild solution is a solution to the equations of GR

We discussed the Schwarzschild solution for a mass in outer space
We derived an equation of motion for a massive particle for the
Schwarzschild solution
In this lecture, we consider circular orbits for a particle
We will compare circular orbits in GR to Newtonian gravity

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 2/9

Equations of motion

In lecture 25, we found that a massive particle with energy E and

angular momentum L has the GR equations of motion
2
E2 L2
  
1 dr 1 rs 
= + 1− 1+ 2 . (26.1)
2 2 dτ 2 r r

This is similar to the “energy balance” in classical Newtonian

mechanics
Specifically consider a particle with mass m and velocity v in a
potential V (r )
In classical Newtonian mechanics, the particle’s energy E would be
given by
mv 2
E= + mV (r ) . (26.2)
2
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Equations of motion
dr
If the particle’s velocity is radial v = dτ , so the Newtonian theory
gives
1 dr 2
 
E
= + V (r ) . (26.3)
m 2 dτ

We can compare this to the GR equation of motion (26.1)

2
E2 L2
  
1 dr 1 rs 
= + 1− 1+ 2 (26.4)
2 2 dτ 2 r r

We conclude that for GR, there is an “energy-budget” similar to

classical mechanics
The only difference between GR and Newton is the form of the
potential V (r )
paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 4/9
Gravitational Potential

In Newton’s theory of gravity, the gravitational potential away from a

body of mass M is VN (r ) = − GMr
For a particle of angular momentum L, in classical mechanics there is
2
an additional potential term given by VL (r ) = 2rL 2
So the potential for a particle in classical (Newtonian) mechanics we
have
GM L2
Vclass (r ) = VN (r ) + VL (r ) = − + 2. (26.5)
r 2r

By contrast, in GR we find from (26.1)

L2 1 GM L2 GML2
  
1 2GM
V (r ) = 1− 1+ 2 = − + 2 − 3 . (26.6)
2 r r 2 r 2r r

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 5/9

Circular Orbits – Newton

dr
Circular orbits mean radius does not change: dτ =0
Stable circular orbits are found from the minimum of the potential
For classical (Newton) mechanics, we have

dVclass GM L2
0= = 2 − 3 (26.7)
dr r r

So for Newton gravity, stable circular orbits are found for

L2
r= . (26.8)
GM

For Newton gravity, orbits are stable for all L

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 6/9

Circular Orbits – Einstein
dr
Circular orbits mean radius does not change: dτ =0
Stable circular orbits are found from the minimum of the potential
For GR we have
dV GM L2 3GML2
0= = 2 − 3 + (26.9)
dr r r r4

So for GR we get
r
L2 L2 L4
r2 − r + 3L2 = 0 , r= ± − 3L2 . (26.10)
GM 2GM 4G 2 M 2
2
Stable circular orbits exist as long as 4GL2 M 2 ≥ 3 or
√
|L| ≥ 12GM ≡ Lc . (26.11)

paul.romatschke@colorado.edu GR – Lecture 26 Spring 2021 7/9

Circular Orbits – Einstein

√
For GR, there is a minimum angular momentum L = Lc = 12GM
below which orbits are no longer stable
There is an associated minimum radius rISCO :

L2c
rISCO = = 6GM . (26.12)
2GM

We call this the Innermost Stable Circular Orbit (ISCO)

In relation to the Schwarzschild horizon rs = 2GM we have

rISCO = 3rs . (26.13)

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Circular Orbits – Einstein

Sketch of GR orbits

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