The upcoming new generation of ground-based detectors such as LIGO and
VIRGO is likely to allow for the first direct detections of gravitational
waves, opening a new window on the universe and on extreme events in the
regime of strong-field gravity. Compact object mergers are the most
promising sources for these detectors, as for the future space-based
experiments. The faintness of the signal has driven a lot of effort to
model it as accurately as possible, which is done using a combination of
analytical and numerical methods.
In this talk, we will address the question of the analytical modelling of
spin-orbit effects in the inspiral of compact binaries, within the
post-Newtonian approach. From astrophysical observations, black holes
spins are expected to be generically close to maximal, and they play an
important role by causing orbital plane precession modulating the signal.
We will present the formalism of point particles with spins and the
post-Newtonian near-zone expansion method, and report the results recently
obtained for the spin-orbit dynamics at higher order, as well as new
corresponding contributions to the emitted flux and phasing of the binary.