Related papers: Modelling the final state from binary black-hole c…
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…
A numerical solution scheme for the Einstein field equations based on generalized harmonic coordinates is described, focusing on details not provided before in the literature and that are of particular relevance to the binary black hole…
Extremal black holes are studied in a two dimensional model motivated by a dimensional reduction from four dimensions. Their quantum corrected geometry is calculated semiclassically and a mild singularity is shown to appear at the horizon.…
Recent developments in numerical relativity have made it possible to follow reliably the coalescence of two black holes from near the innermost stable circular orbit to final ringdown. This opens up a wide variety of exciting astrophysical…
Several groups have recently computed the gravitational radiation recoil produced by the merger of two spinning black holes. The results suggest that spin can be the dominant contributor to the kick, with reported recoil speeds of hundreds…
We revisit the scenario of the gravitational radiation recoil acquired by the final remnant of a black-hole-binary merger by studying a set of configurations that have components of the spin both aligned with the orbital angular momentum…
Gravitational waves from the coalescence of binary black holes carry linear momentum, causing center of mass recoil. This ``radiation rocket'' has important implications for systems with escape speeds of order the recoil velocity. We…
Gravitational wave observations of eccentric binary black hole mergers will provide unequivocal evidence for the formation of these systems through dynamical assembly in dense stellar environments. The study of these astrophysically…
The study of the dynamical evolution of massive black hole pairs in mergers is crucial in the context of a hierarchical galaxy formation scenario. The timescales for the formation and the coalescence of black hole binaries are still poorly…
We analyze a new numerical relativity dataset of spinning but nonprecessing binary black holes on eccentric orbits, with eccentricities from approximately $0.1$ to $0.5$, with dimensionless spins up to $0.75$ included at mass ratios…
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…
Binary black holes with spins that are aligned with the orbital angular momentum do not precess. However, post-Newtonian calculations predict that "up-down" binaries, in which the spin of the heavier (lighter) black hole is aligned…
Decay of a near-extremal black hole down to the extremal state is studied in the background field approximation to determine the fate of injected matter and Hawking pairs. By examining the behavior of light rays and solutions to the wave…
Binary black holes occupy a special place in our quest for understanding the evolution of galaxies along cosmic history. If massive black holes grow at the center of (pre-)galactic structures that experience a sequence of merger episodes,…
Since the breakthrough papers from 2005/2006, the field of numerical relativity has experienced a growth spurt that took the two-body problem in general relativity from the category of "really-hard-problems" to the realm of…
We present a new study of remnant black hole properties from 13 binary black hole systems, numerically evolved using the Spectral Einstein Code. The mass, spin, and recoil velocity of each remnant were determined quasi-locally from apparent…
The numerical relativity session at GR18 was dominated by physics results on binary black hole mergers. Several groups can now simulate these from a time when the post-Newtonian equations of motion are still applicable, through several…
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…
We discuss a new N-body simulation method for studying black hole binary dynamics. This method avoids previous numerical problems due to large mass ratios and trapped orbits with short periods. A treatment of relativistic effects is…
It is well known that celestial bodies tend to be spherical due to gravity and that rotation produces deviations from this sphericity. We discuss what is known and expected about the shape of black holes' horizons from their formation to…