Related papers: Binary black hole merger: symmetry and the spin ex…
Gravitational waves carry away both energy and angular momentum as binary black holes inspiral and merge. The relative efficiency with which they are radiated determines whether the final black hole of mass $M_f$ and spin $S_f$ saturates…
This paper presents techniques and results for simulations of unequal mass, non-spinning black hole binaries with pseudo-spectral methods. Specifically, we develop an efficient root-finding procedure to ensure the black hole initial data…
We present results obtained by scattering a scalar field off the curved background of a coalescing binary black hole system. A massless scalar field is evolved on a set of fixed backgrounds, each provided by a spatial hypersurface generated…
Determining the final spin of a black-hole (BH) binary is a question of key importance in astrophysics. Modelling this quantity in general is made difficult by the fact that it depends on the 7-dimensional space of parameters characterizing…
The standard approach to the numerical evolution of black hole data using the ADM formulation with maximal slicing and vanishing shift is extended to non-symmetric black hole data containing black holes with linear momentum and spin by…
In this paper, we adopt the so-called Buonanno-Kidder-Lehner (BKL) recipe to estimate the final spin of a rotating binary black hole merger in STU supergravity. According to the BKL recipe, the final spin can be viewed as the sum of the…
In this short paper we discuss the possibility of testing the nature of astrophysical black holes using the recently observed black hole mergers. We investigate the possibility that a secondary black hole is created in the merger of two…
We present the results of 14 simulations of nonspinning black hole binaries with mass ratios $q=m_1/m_2$ in the range $1/100\leq q\leq1$. For each of these simulations we perform three runs at increasing resolution to assess the finite…
The spins of binary black holes measured with gravitational waves provide insights about the formation, evolution, and dynamics of these systems. However, interpreting these measurements-especially for heavy black holes-remains an open…
We study dynamics and radiation generation in the last few orbits and merger of a binary black hole system, applying recently developed techniques for simulations of moving black holes. Our analysis of the gravitational radiation waveforms…
We present a straightforward approach for estimating the final black hole spin of a binary black hole coalescence with arbitrary initial masses and spins. Making some simple assumptions, we estimate the final angular momentum to be the sum…
A new solution of four-dimensional vacuum General Relativity is presented. It describes the near horizon region of the extreme (maximally spinning) binary black hole system with two identical extreme Kerr black holes held in equilibrium by…
Astrophysically realistic black holes may have spins that are nearly extremal (i.e., close to 1 in dimensionless units). Numerical simulations of binary black holes are important tools both for calibrating analytical templates for…
Gravitational waves from binary black hole pairs have emerged as an important observational tool in current times. The energy of the BH - BH binary pair is radiated in the form of gravitational waves and to compensate for that energy,…
We perform a sequence of binary black hole simulations with increasingly small mass ratios, reaching to a 128:1 binary that displays 13 orbits before merger. Based on a detailed convergence study of the $q=m_1/m_2=1/15$ nonspinning case, we…
We present our latest results for simulation for merger of black hole (BH)-neutron star (NS) binaries in full general relativity which is performed preparing a quasicircular state as initial condition. The BH is modeled by a moving puncture…
Methods are presented to define and compute source multipoles of dynamical horizons in numerical relativity codes, extending previous work from the isolated and dynamical horizon formalisms in a manner that allows for the consideration of…
We use a 3-D relativistic SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) code to study mergers of black hole -- neutron star (BH--NS) binary systems with low mass ratios, adopting $M_{NS}/M_{BH} \simeq 0.1$ as a representative case. The outcome of…
Recent theoretical studies suggest that stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) would merge more efficiently due to the Kozai-Lidov mechanism if these binaries form in the vicinity of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Since SMBHs are likely…
We present general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of merging equal-mass, spinning black holes embedded in an equatorial thin slab of magnetized gas. We evolve black holes either non-spinning, with spins aligned to the orbital…