Related papers: Are different approaches to constructing initial d…
A one-parameter family of time-symmetric initial data for the radial infall of a particle into a Schwarzschild black hole is constructed within the framework of black-hole perturbation theory. The parameter measures the amount of…
A general relativistic, stationary and axisymmetric black hole in a four-dimensional asymptotically-flat spacetime is fully determined by its mass, angular momentum and electric charge. The expectation that astrophysically relevant black…
Coalescing binary black holes are among the primary science targets for second generation ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Reliable GW models are central to detection of such systems and subsequent parameter estimation. This…
As numerical calculations of inspiralling neutron-star binaries reach values of accuracy that are comparable with those of binary black holes, a fine budgeting of the various sources of error becomes increasingly important. Among such…
The first direct detections of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes open a unique window into the binary black hole formation environment. One promising environmental signature is the angular distribution of the black hole…
We present the results of 61 new simulations of nonprecessing spinning black hole binaries with mass ratios $q=m_1/m_2$ in the range $1/3\leq q\leq1$ and individual spins covering the parameter space $-0.85\leq\alpha_{1,2}\leq0.85$. We…
We present a new scheme for constructing initial data for the Einstein field equations using the conformal thin-sandwich formulation that does not assume conformal flatness or approximate Killing vectors. This includes a method for…
The coalescence of a neutron star with a black hole is a primary science target of ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Constraining or measuring the neutron star spin directly from gravitational wave observations requires knowledge…
We present the results of 14 simulations of nonspinning black hole binaries with mass ratios $q=m_1/m_2$ in the range $1/100\leq q\leq1$. For each of these simulations we perform three runs at increasing resolution to assess the finite…
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…
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…
The standard approach to the numerical evolution of black hole data using the ADM formulation with maximal slicing and vanishing shift is extended to non-symmetric black hole data containing black holes with linear momentum and spin by…
The construction of constraint-satisfying initial data is an essential element for the numerical exploration of the dynamics of compact-object binaries. While several codes have been developed over the years to compute generic…
Attempts to understand the formation of binary black hole (BBH) systems detected via gravitational wave (GW) emission are affected by many unknowns and uncertainties, from both the observational and theoretical (astrophysical modelling)…
We present a comprehensive parameter-space study of binary black hole (BBH) mergers using the SEOBNRv4\_opt waveform model. Our analysis spans $\sim 10^6$ simulated waveforms across a broad range of mass ratios \( q = \frac{m_1}{m_2} \in…
Numerical-relativity simulations with non-trivial matter configurations require initial data that satisfy the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints of the Einstein equations. We construct constraint-satisfying scalar-field initial data using…
The complex astrophysical processes leading to the formation of binary black holes and their eventual merger are imprinted on the spins of the individual black holes. We revisit the astrophysical distribution of those spins based on…
Population inference of gravitational-wave catalogues is a useful tool to translate observations of black-hole mergers into constraints on compact-binary formation. Different formation channels predict identifiable signatures in the…
There are at least two formation scenarios consistent with the first gravitational-wave observations of binary black hole mergers. In field models, black hole binaries are formed from stellar binaries that may undergo common envelope…
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…