Dynamics of compact binary systems in strong gravitational fields

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The proposal is divided into two broad streams. The first stream is concerned with the physics of black holes in tidal environments. What happens to a black hole when it is not isolated, but placed in the presence of other bodies which exert tidal forces on it? To answer this question requires a description of the tidal environment, a computation of the gravitational perturbation created by the external bodies, and the extraction of physical, measurable consequences. Among the most exciting of those consequences is the prospect of measuring the effect of the tidal coupling in gravitational waves, a measurement that would allow a black hole to be observationally distinguished from other types of compact bodies. I have initiated this line of investigation in 2004, and I propose to extend it in many different directions during the next granting cycle.