The next generation: Impact of high-order analytical information on effective one body waveform models for noncircularized, spin-aligned black hole binaries

Abstract: We explore the performance of an updated effective-one-body (EOB) model for spin-aligned coalescing black hole binaries designed to deal with any orbital configuration. The model stems from previous work involving the \TEOBResumS{} waveform model, but incorporates recently computed analytical information up to fifth post-Newtonian (PN) order in the EOB potentials. The dynamics is then informed by Numerical Relativity (NR) quasi-circular simulations (incorporating also recently computed 4PN spin-spin and, optionally, 4.5PN spin-orbit terms). The so-constructed model(s) are then compared to various kind of NR simulations, covering either quasi-circular inspirals, eccentric inspirals and scattering configurations. For quasi-circular (534 datasets) and eccentric (28 datasets) inspirals up to coalescence, the EOB/NR unfaithfulness is well below $1\%$ except for a few outliers in the high, positive, spin corner of the parameter space, where however it does not exceed the $3\%$ level. The EOB values of the scattering angle are found to agree ($\lesssim 1\%$) with the NR predictions for most configurations, with the largest disagreement of only $\sim 4\%$ for the most relativistic one. The inclusion of some high-order analytical information in the orbital sector is useful to improve the EOB/NR agreement with respect to previous work, although the use of NR-informed functions is still crucial to accurately describe the strong-field dynamics and waveform.