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{{Short description|Approximate equations of motion in general relativity}}{{More sources|date=September 2024}}{{general relativity sidebar}}
The '''Einstein–Infeld–Hoffmann equations of motion''', jointly derived by [[Albert Einstein]], [[Leopold Infeld]] and [[Banesh Hoffmann]], are the [[Differential equation|differential equations]] describing the approximate [[dynamics (physics)|dynamics]] of a system of point-like masses due to their mutual gravitational interactions, including [[general relativity|general relativistic]] effects. It uses a first-order [[post-Newtonian expansion]] and thus is valid in the limit where the velocities of the bodies are small compared to the speed of light and where the gravitational fields affecting them are correspondingly weak.

Given a system of ''N'' bodies, labelled by indices ''A''&nbsp;=&nbsp;1,&nbsp;...,&nbsp;''N'', the [[Barycentric coordinates (astronomy)|barycentric]] acceleration vector of body ''A'' is given by:

: <math>
\begin{align}
\vec{a}_A & = \sum_{B \not = A} \frac{G m_B \vec{n}_{BA}}{r_{AB}^2} \\
& {} \quad{} + \frac{1}{c^2} \sum_{B \not = A}
    \frac{G m_B \vec{n}_{BA}}{r_{AB}^2}
       \left[ v_A^2+2v_B^2 - 4( \vec{v}_A \cdot \vec{v}_B) - \frac{3}{2} ( \vec{n}_{AB} \cdot \vec{v}_B)^2 \right. \\
& {} \qquad {} \left. {} -
        4 \sum_{C \not = A} \frac{G m_C}{r_{AC}} -
          \sum_{C \not = B} \frac{G m_C}{r_{BC}} + \frac{1}{2}( (\vec{x}_B-\vec{x}_A) \cdot \vec{a}_B )  \right] \\
& {}\quad{} + \frac{1}{c^2} \sum_{B \not = A} \frac{G m_B}{r_{AB}^2}\left[\vec{n}_{AB}\cdot(4\vec{v}_A-3\vec{v}_B)\right](\vec{v}_A-\vec{v}_B) \\
& {} \quad {} + \frac{7}{2c^2} \sum_{B \not = A}{ \frac{G m_B \vec{a}_B }{r_{AB}}} + O (c^{-4})
\end{align}
</math>

where:
:<math>\vec{x}_A</math> is the barycentric position vector of body A
:<math>\vec{v}_A=d\vec{x}_A/dt</math> is the barycentric velocity vector of body A
:<math>\vec{a}_A=d^2\vec{x}_A/dt^2</math> is the barycentric acceleration vector of body A
:<math>r_{AB}=|\vec{x}_A-\vec{x}_B|</math> is the coordinate distance between bodies A and B
:<math>\vec{n}_{AB}=(\vec{x}_A-\vec{x}_B)/r_{AB}</math> is the unit vector pointing from body B to body A
:<math>m_A</math> is the mass of body A.
:<math>c</math> is the [[speed of light]]
:<math>G</math> is the [[gravitational constant]]
:and the [[big O notation]] is used to indicate that terms of order ''c''<sup>&minus;4</sup> or beyond have been omitted.

The coordinates used here are [[harmonic coordinate condition|harmonic]]. The first term on the right hand side is the Newtonian gravitational acceleration at&nbsp;''A''; in the limit as ''c''&nbsp;→&nbsp;∞, one recovers Newton's law of motion.

The acceleration of a particular body depends on the accelerations of all the other bodies. Since the quantity on the left hand side also appears in the right hand side, this system of equations must be solved iteratively. In practice, using the Newtonian acceleration instead of the true acceleration provides sufficient accuracy.<ref>Standish, Williams. Orbital Ephemerides of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, Pg 4. {{cite web |url=http://iau-comm4.jpl.nasa.gov/XSChap8.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-04-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205225629/http://iau-comm4.jpl.nasa.gov/XSChap8.pdf |archive-date=2011-02-05 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last=Einstein |first=A. |last2=Infeld |first2=L. |last3=Hoffmann |first3=B. |year=1938 |title=The Gravitational Equations and the Problem of Motion |journal=[[Annals of Mathematics]] |series=Second series |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=65–100 |jstor=1968714 |bibcode = 1938AnMat..39...65E | doi = 10.2307/1968714 }}
*{{cite book |last=Kovalevsky |first=Jean |last2=Seidelmann |first2=P. Kenneth |year=2004 |title=Fundamentals of Astrometry |url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsastr00seid |url-access=limited |location=New York |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsastr00seid/page/n189 173] |isbn=0521642167 }}
*{{cite book |last=Landau |first=Lev |last2=Lifshitz |first2=Evgeny  |year=1971 |title=The classical theory of fields |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Pergamon Press]] |page=337 }}
{{Einstein}}

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