Relativistic angular momentum can be compactly abbreviated in tensor index notation where the indices "i" and "j" take the values 1, 2, 3. On the other hand, the components can be systematically displayed fully in a 3 × 3 antisymmetric matrix This quantity is additive, and for an isolated system, the total angular momentum of a system is conserved. In classical mechanics, the three-dimensional quantity for a particle of mass "m" moving with velocity u has the dimensions of "mass moment" – length multiplied by mass. It is related to the boost (relative velocity) of the centre of mass (COM) of the particle
Chirp mass terms of other common mass parameters: where formula_7 is the total mass of the system, formula_8 is the reduced mass of the system, formula_9 is the mass ratio, and formula_10 is the symmetric mass ratio. In general relativity, the phase evolution of a binary orbit can be computed using a post-Newtonian expansion, a perturbative expansion in powers of the orbital velocity formula_11. The first order gravitational wave frequency, formula_12, evolution is described by the differential equation where formula_14 and formula_15 are the speed of light and Newton's gravitational constant, respectively. Integrating equation () with respect to time gives: where C