Related papers: On Toroidal Horizons in Binary Black Hole Inspiral…
We prove that, under certain conditions, the topology of the event horizon of a four dimensional asymptotically flat black hole spacetime must be a 2-sphere. No stationarity assumption is made. However, in order for the theorem to apply,…
We discuss the properties of stellar mass black hole (BH) mergers induced by tidal encounters with a massive BH at galactic centres or potentially in dense star clusters. The tidal disruption of stellar binaries by a massive BH is known to…
In this second part of a two-part paper, we discuss numerical simulations of a head-on merger of two non-spinning black holes. We resolve the fate of the original two apparent horizons by showing that after intersecting, their world tubes…
We describe recent numerical simulations of the merger of a class of equal mass, non-spinning, eccentric binary black hole systems in general relativity. We show that with appropriate fine-tuning of the initial conditions to a region of…
We prove that if S is a time-oriented null hypersurface of a Lorentzian n-manifold (M, g), the causal world-lines, which intersect transversally S and are time-oriented in a compatible way, cross the hypersurface all in the same direction,…
Recently, various examples of asymptotically flat, rotating black holes (BHs) with synchronized hair have been explicitly constructed, including Kerr BHs with scalar or Proca hair, and Myers-Perry BHs with scalar hair and a mass gap,…
We present numerical simulations of binary black hole systems which for the first time last for about one orbital period for close but still separate black holes as indicated by the absence of a common apparent horizon. An important part of…
We analyze the near-horizon symmetries of static, axisymmetric, four-dimensional black holes with spherical and toroidal horizon topologies in vacuum general relativity. These black hole solutions, collectively referred to as…
The inspiral merger time for two black holes captured into a nonrelativistic bound orbit by gravitational radiation emission has been often calculated by a formula of Peters that assumes the adiabatic approximation that the changes per…
Motivated by the possibility of observing gravitational waves from merging black holes whose spins are nearly extremal (i.e., 1 in dimensionless units), we present numerical waveforms from simulations of merging black holes with the highest…
The qualitative and quantitative understanding of near-horizon gravitational dynamics in the strong-field regime represents a challenge both at a fundamental level and in astrophysical applications. Recent advances in numerical relativity…
As a black hole in a binary spirals in gradually from large separation, energy and angular momentum flow not only to infinity but also into or out of the hole. In addition, the hole's horizon area increases slowly during this process. In…
We introduce the concept of a geometric horizon, which is a surface distinguished by the vanishing of certain curvature invariants which characterize its special algebraic character. We motivate its use for the detection of the event…
Primordial black hole (PBH) binaries experience strong gravitational perturbations in the case of their initial clustering, which significantly affects the dynamics of their mergers. In this work, we develop a new formalism to account for…
We explore how a recently developed analytical black-hole binary spacetime can be extended using numerical simulations to go beyond the slow-inspiral phase. The analytic spacetime solves the Einstein field equations approximately, with the…
We study critical black hole separations for the formation of a common apparent horizon in systems of $N$ - black holes in a time symmetric configuration. We study in detail the aligned equal mass cases for $N=2,3,4,5$, and relate them to…
With the hundreds of merging binary black hole (BH) signals expected to be detected by LIGO/Virgo, LISA and other instruments in the next few years, the modeling of astrophysical channels that lead to the formation of compact-object…
We consider a class of black holes for which the area of the two-dimensional spatial cross-section has a minimum on the horizon with respect to a quasiglobal (Krusckal-like) coordinate. If the horizon is regular, one can generate a tubelike…
Multiple approaches are required to study the evolution of black-hole binaries. While the post-Newtonian approximation is sufficient to describe the early inspiral (even from infinitely large orbital separation), only numerical relativity…
We present results for two colliding black holes (BHs), with angular momentum, spin, and unequal mass. For the first time gravitational waveforms are computed for a grazing collision from a full 3D numerical evolution. The collision can be…