Related papers: Binary black hole evolutions of approximate punctu…
Many evolution problems in physics are described by partial differential equations on an infinite domain; therefore, one is interested in the solutions to such problems for a given initial dataset. A prominent example is the binary black…
Numerical relativity (NR) provides the most accurate waveforms for comparable-mass binary black holes but becomes prohibitively expensive for increasingly asymmetric mass ratios. Point-particle black hole perturbation theory (ppBHPT), which…
Activities in data analysis and numerical simulation of gravitational waves have to date largely proceeded independently. In this work we study how waveforms obtained from numerical simulations could be effectively used within the data…
We report on numerical simulations of critical phenomena near the threshold of black hole formation in the collapse of axisymmetric gravitational waves in vacuum. We discuss several new features of our numerical treatment, and then compare…
We present the first direct comparison of numerical simulations of neutron star-black hole and black hole-black hole mergers in full general relativity. We focus on a configuration with non spinning objects and within the most likely range…
Motivated by the goal for high accuracy modeling of gravitational radiation emitted by isolated systems, recently, there has been renewed interest in the numerical solution of the hyperboloidal initial value problem for Einstein's field…
The interaction of binary black hole mergers with their environments can be studied using numerical relativity simulations. These start only a short finite time before merger, at which point appropriate initial conditions must be imposed. A…
Numerical relativity simulations provide a means by which to study the evolution and end point of strong over-densities in cosmological spacetimes. Specific applications include studies of primordial black hole formation and the robustness…
This a particularly exciting time for gravitational wave physics. Ground-based gravitational wave detectors are now operating at a sensitivity such that gravitational radiation may soon be directly detected, and recently several groups have…
We study physical properties of conformal initial value data for single and binary black hole configurations obtained using conformal-imaging and conformal-puncture methods. We investigate how the total mass M_tot of a dataset with two…
The production of numerical relativity waveforms that describe quasicircular binary black hole mergers requires high-quality initial data, and an algorithm to iteratively reduce residual eccentricity. To date, these tools remain closed…
We consider the numerical evolution of black hole initial data sets, consisting of single black holes distorted by strong gravitational waves, with a full 3D, nonlinear evolution code. These data sets mimic the late stages of coalescing…
Gravitational waves radiated by the coalescence of compact-object binaries containing a neutron star and a black hole are one of the most interesting sources for the ground-based gravitational-wave observatories Advanced LIGO and Advanced…
We study the spin dynamics of individual black holes in a binary system. In particular we focus on the polar precession of spins and the possibility of a complete flip of spins with respect to the orbital plane. We perform a full numerical…
We study parameter estimation with post-Newtonian (PN) gravitational waveforms for the quasi-circular, adiabatic inspiral of spinning binary compact objects. The performance of amplitude-corrected waveforms is compared with that of the more…
The binary fraction in young open clusters exceeds that of field stars, making the study of binary dynamical evolution in clusters essential for understanding the origins and evolution of field binaries. Using N-body simulations based on…
Numerical simulations of binary black holes are accompanied by an initial spurious burst of gravitational radiation (called `junk radiation') caused by a failure of the initial data to describe a snapshot of an inspiral that started at an…
To observe the dynamic formation of black holes in general relativity, one essentially needs to prove that closed trapped surfaces form during evolution from initial data that do not already contain trapped surfaces. We discuss the recent…
Future ground-based gravitational wave observatories will be ideal probes of the environments surrounding black holes with masses $1 - 10\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$. Binary black hole mergers with mass ratios of order $q=m_2/m_1\lesssim10^{-3}$ can…
Moving puncture simulations of black hole binaries rely on a specific gauge choice that leads to approximately stationary coordinates near each black hole. Part of the shift condition is a damping parameter, which has to be properly chosen…