Related papers: Modelling the final state from binary black-hole c…
We have used our new technique for fully numerical evolutions of orbiting black-hole binaries without excision to model the last orbit and merger of an equal-mass black-hole system. We track the trajectories of the individual apparent…
In this work we explore a numerical technique, based on the spherical harmonic decomposition and the discretization of the radial coordinate through \v{C}eby\v{s}\"ev polynomial interpolation, for the computation of quasi-bound states of…
Up to now several gravitational-wave events from the coalescences of black hole binaries have been reported by LIGO/VIRGO, and imply that black holes should have an extended mass function. We work out the merger rate distribution of…
Massive black hole binaries are naturally predicted in the context of the hierarchical model of structure formation. The binaries that manage to lose most of their angular momentum can coalesce to form a single remnant. In the last stages…
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…
The ability to model the evolution of compact binaries from the inspiral to coalescence is central to gravitational wave astronomy. Current waveform catalogues are built from vacuum binary black hole models, by evolving Einstein equations…
Coalescing binary black-hole systems are among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for ground-based interferometers. While the \emph{inspiral} and \emph{ring-down} stages of the binary black-hole coalescence are well-modelled…
The extensive catalog of waveforms, with details of binary black hole inspiral and merger, offer an opportunity to understand black hole interactions beyond the large separation regime. We envision a research program that focuses on the…
We present the first fully relativistic longterm numerical evolutions of three equal-mass black holes in a system consisting of a third black hole in a close orbit about a black-hole binary. We find that these close-three-black-hole systems…
Some of the theoretical challenges posed by the general relativistic description of binary systems of compact objects (neutron stars or black holes) are reviewed. We recall the various ways one can use the theory of the motion, and of the…
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 report evidence for nonlinear modes in the ringdown stage of the gravitational waveform produced by the merger of two comparable-mass black holes. We consider both the coalescence of black hole binaries in quasicircular orbits and…
Binary black-hole coalescence is treated semi-analytically by a novel approach. Our prescription employs the conservative Skeleton Hamiltonian that describes orbiting Brill-Lindquist wormholes (termed punctures in Numerical Relativity)…
We compute the gravitational waveform emitted during the transition from quasi-spherical inspiral to plunge, merger and ringdown for a system of two black holes in the extreme mass ratio limit, where the primary is spinning and the…
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 study binary spinning black holes to display the long term individual spin dynamics. We perform a full numerical simulation starting at an initial proper separation of $d\approx25M$ between equal mass holes and evolve them down to merger…
Several improvements in numerical methods and gauge choice are presented that make it possible now to perform simulations of the merger and ringdown phases of "generic" binary black-hole evolutions using the pseudo-spectral evolution code…
Advances in the field of numerical relativity now make it possible to calculate the final, most powerful merger phase of binary black-hole coalescence for generic binaries. The state of the art has advanced well beyond the equal-mass case…
Observations of gravitational waves provide new opportunities to study our Universe. In particular, mergers of stellar black holes are the main targets of the current gravitational wave experiments. In order to make accurate predictions, it…
Merging event horizons of the binary black holes is investigated. While recent development of the numerical study of the binary black hole coalescence has shown that their apparent horizons can orbit for many periods, we study the orbital…