Related papers: Can binary mergers produce maximally spinning blac…
We present results from several simulations of equal mass black holes with spin. The spin magnitudes are $S/m^2=0.8$ in all cases, but we vary the spin orientations arbitrarily, in and outside the orbital plane. We find that in all but one…
When galaxies collide, dynamical friction drives their central supermassive black holes close enought to each other such that gravitational radiation becomes the leading dissipative effect. Gravitational radiation takes away energy,…
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…
The maximum mass of black holes formed in isolated binaries is determined by stellar winds and the interactions between the binary components. We consider for the first time fully self-consistent detailed stellar structure and binary…
Binary black-hole systems with spins aligned or anti-aligned to the orbital angular momentum provide the natural ground to start detailed studies of the influence of strong-field spin effects on gravitational wave observations of coalescing…
We performed a series of 769 full numerical simulations of high energy collision of black holes to search for the maximum gravitational energy emitted $E_{rad}$, during their merger. We consider equal mass binaries with spins pointing along…
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…
Recent studies of accretion onto supermassive black hole binaries suggest that much, perhaps most, of the matter eventually accretes onto one hole or the other. If so, then for binaries whose inspiral from ~1 pc to 0.001 - 0.01 pc is driven…
We present a preliminary study of the multipolar structure of gravitational radiation from spinning black hole binary mergers. We consider three different spinning binary configurations: (1) one "hang-up" run, where the black holes have…
We investigate the energy of the gravitational wave from a binary black hole merger by the coalescence of two Kerr black holes with an orbital angular momentum. The coalescence is constructed to be consistent with particle absorption in the…
We demonstrate that in binary black hole mergers there is a direct correlation between the frequency of the gravitational wave at peak amplitude and the mass and spin of the final black hole. This correlation could potentially assist with…
The heaviest black holes discovered through gravitational waves have masses that are difficult to explain with current standard stellar models. This discrepancy may be due to a series of hierarchical mergers, where the observed black holes…
We present a study of spinning black hole binaries focusing on the spin dynamics of the individual black holes as well as on the gravitational recoil acquired by the black hole produced by the merger. We consider two series of initial spin…
In dense stellar environments, the merger products of binary black hole mergers may undergo additional mergers. These hierarchical mergers are predicted to have higher masses than the first generation of black holes made from stars. The…
The observation of gravitational-wave signals from merging black-hole binaries enables direct measurement of the properties of the black holes. An individual observation allows measurement of the black-hole masses, but only limited…
We consider a subset of the physical processes that determine the spin j = a/M of astrophysical black holes. These include: (1) Initial conditions. Recent models suggest that the collapse of supermassive stars are likely to produce black…
Binary supermassive black holes are produced by galactic mergers as the black holes from the two galaxies fall to the center of the merged system and form a bound pair. The two black holes will eventually coalesce in an enormous burst of…
When two black holes merge in a dense star cluster, they form a new black hole with a well-defined mass and spin. If that "second-generation" black hole remains in the cluster, it will continue to participate in dynamical encounters, form…
We present the first numerical simulations of an initially non-spinning black-hole binary with mass ratio as large as 10:1 in full general relativity. The binary completes approximately 3 orbits prior to merger and radiates about 0.415% of…
Using recent results from numerical relativity simulations of black hole mergers, we revisit previous studies of cosmological black hole spin evolution. We show that mergers are very unlikely to yield large spins, unless alignment of the…