Related papers: Evolution of near-extremal-spin black holes using …
We demonstrate that numerical relativity codes based on the moving punctures formalism are capable of evolving nearly maximally spinning black hole binaries. We compare a new evolution of an equal-mass, aligned-spin binary with…
We present results from a new code for binary black hole evolutions using the moving-puncture approach, implementing finite differences in generalised coordinates, and allowing the spacetime to be covered with multiple communicating…
The moving puncture method is analyzed for a single, non-spinning black hole. It is shown that the puncture region is not resolved by current numerical codes. As a result, the geometry near the puncture appears to evolve to an infinitely…
Black holes described by the Kerr metric can have a theoretical maximum dimensionless spin parameter of $a_\bullet = 1$, but several effects may limit the maximum spin parameter in astrophysical systems. We perform general relativistic…
A Kerr black hole with mass $M$ and angular momentum $J$ satisfies the extremality inequality $|J| \le M^2$. In the presence of matter and/or gravitational radiation, this bound needs to be reformulated in terms of local measurements of the…
We have developed a numerical code to study the evolution of distorted, rotating black holes. This code is used to evolve a new family of black hole initial data sets corresponding to distorted ``Kerr'' holes with a wide range of rotation…
There is robust observational evidence supporting the existence of $5 - 20$ $M_\odot$ compact bodies in X-ray binary systems and of $10^5 - 10^9$ $M_\odot$ bodies at the center of many galaxies. All these objects are commonly interpreted as…
We solve the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints of general relativity for two black holes with nearly extremal spins and relativistic boosts in the puncture formalism. We use a non-conformally-flat ansatz with an attenuated superposition…
Significant advances in numerical simulations of black-hole binaries have recently been achieved using the puncture method. We examine how and why this method works by evolving a single black hole. The coordinate singularity and hence the…
We use the `moving puncture' approach to perform fully non-linear evolutions of spinning quasi-circular black-hole binaries with individual spins not aligned with the orbital angular momentum. We evolve configurations with the individual…
We compute the gravitational radiation generated in the evolution of a family of close binary black hole configurations, using a combination of numerical and perturbative approximation methods. We evolve the binaries with spins, $s$,…
Near extremal Kerr black holes are subject to the Thorne limit $a<a^*_{\rm lim}=0.998$ in the case of thin disc accretion, or some generalized version of this in other disc geometries. However any limit that differs from the thermodynamics…
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…
Currently the most popular method to evolve black-hole binaries is the ``moving puncture'' method. It has recently been shown that when puncture initial data for a Schwarzschild black hole are evolved using this method, the numerical slices…
We have developed a new numerical code to study the evolution of distorted, rotating black holes. We discuss the numerical methods and gauge conditions we developed to evolve such spacetimes. The code has been put through a series of tests,…
We describe early success in the evolution of binary black hole spacetimes with a numerical code based on a generalization of harmonic coordinates. Indications are that with sufficient resolution this scheme is capable of evolving binary…
The ``moving puncture'' technique has led to dramatic advancements in the numerical simulations of binary black holes. Hannam et.al. have recently demonstrated that, for suitable gauge conditions commonly employed in moving puncture…
There is a significant possibility that astrophysical black holes with nearly-extremal spins exist. Numerical simulations of such systems require suitable initial data. In this paper, we examine three methods of constructing…
We construct a closed-form, fully analytical 4-metric that approximately represents the spacetime evolution of non-precessing, spinning black hole binaries from infinite separations up to a few orbits prior to merger. We employ the…
We investigate the accretion induced spin up of the black hole via numerical simulations. Our method is based on general-relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics of the slowly-rotating flows in the Kerr metric, where possibly transonic shock…