Publishing house / Banach Center Publications / All volumes

Abstract

The geodesic deviation equations, called also the Jacobi equations, describe only the first-order effects, linear in the small parameter characterizing the deviation from an original worldline. They can be easily generalized if we take into account the higher-order terms. Here we derive these higher-order equations not only directly, but also from the Taylor expansion of the variational principle itself. Then we show how these equations can be used in a novel approach to the two-body problem in General Relativity