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arXiv · 2608.14267

Classical gravitational scattering with a massive scalar mediator

Birgitta Biendarra·Kays Haddad·Jan Plefka
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Abstract

We consider the classical scattering of two gravitating compact objects in the presence of a massive scalar mediator, providing a simple model of exotic phenomena. Through dimensional analysis, we argue that such a process can only be classical in the presence of gravity, a consequence of which is that perturbing in the coupling of the scalar to a worldline is not separate from the post-Minkowskian expansion. When computing asymptotic observables, the massive mediator complicates the Fourier transforms to impact-parameter space at next-to-leading order. We reduce these to univariate parametric integrals - amenable to numerical integration - and produce analytic results for the linear impulse and the scattering angle to the second post-Minkowskian order. The scattering angle exhibits a resonance when the range of the scalar-mediated force is comparable to the impact parameter, offering a distinctive signature of a massive mediator. In the opposite, large-mass regime we uncover a screening effect: the scalar cloud sourced by each compact object carries negative energy, reducing its gravitational mass by an amount linear in the scalar's mass. Both of these phenomena are next-to-leading-order effects.

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Birgitta Biendarra, Kays Haddad, Jan Plefka. 2026-08-14. Classical gravitational scattering with a massive scalar mediator. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.14267

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