Related papers: Horizons in a binary black hole merger II: Fluxes,…
The behavior of quasi-local black hole horizons in a binary black hole merger is studied numerically. We compute the horizon multipole moments, fluxes and other quantities on black hole horizons throughout the merger. These lead to a better…
Recent advances in numerical relativity have revealed how marginally trapped surfaces behave when black holes merge. It is now known that interesting topological features emerge during the merger, and marginally trapped surfaces can have…
In this work, we uncover new features in the evolution of the deformations of the dynamical horizon geometry in a binary black hole merger scenario using numerical relativity. First, in the inspiral phase, owing to the deformations, the…
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…
The understanding of strong-field dynamics near black-hole horizons is a long-standing and challenging prob- lem in general relativity. Recent advances in numerical relativity and in the geometric characterization of black- hole horizons…
In a companion paper [1], we have presented a cross-correlation approach to near-horizon physics in which bulk dynamics is probed through the correlation of quantities defined at inner and outer spacetime hypersurfaces acting as test…
We analyse the formation and evolution of the event horizon of a black hole binary merger when the black holes are charged. We find that the presence of charge influences the properties of the merger and can be useful for investigating the…
Research on extracting science from binary-black-hole (BBH) simulations has often adopted a "scattering matrix" perspective: given the binary's initial parameters, what are the final hole's parameters and the emitted gravitational waveform?…
Event horizons are the defining physical features of black hole spacetimes, and are of considerable interest in studying black hole dynamics. Here, we reconsider three techniques to localise event horizons in numerical spacetimes:…
We resolve the fate of the two original apparent horizons during the head-on merger of two non-spinning black holes. We show that following the appearance of the outer common horizon and subsequent inter-penetration of the original…
We argue that the event horizon of a binary black hole merger, in the extreme-mass-ratio limit where one of the black holes is much smaller than the other, can be described in an exact analytic way. This is done by tracing in the…
A popular approach in numerical simulations of black hole binaries is to model black holes as punctures in the fabric of spacetime. The location and the properties of the black hole punctures are tracked with apparent horizons, namely…
A black hole binary approaching merger undergoes changes in its inspiral rate as energy and angular momentum are lost from the orbits into the horizons. This effect strengthens as the black holes come closer. We use numerical relativity…
An important question in binary black hole mergers is to connect properties of the remnant black hole to those of the two initial black holes. These properties include not only the final mass and spin of the remnant, but also higher…
We find strong numerical evidence for a new phenomenon in a binary black hole spacetime, namely the merger of marginally outer trapped surfaces (MOTSs). By simulating the head-on collision of two non-spinning unequal mass black holes, we…
We numerically study the algebraic properties of the Weyl tensor through the merger of two non-spinning black holes (BHs). We are particularly interested in the conjecture that for such a vacuum spacetime, which is zeroth-order…
It is expected that all astrophysical black holes in equilibrium are well described by the Kerr solution. Moreover, any black hole far away from equilibrium, such as one initially formed in a compact binary merger or by the collapse of a…
A detailed description of how black holes grow in full, non-linear general relativity is presented. The starting point is the notion of dynamical horizons. Expressions of fluxes of energy and angular momentum carried by gravitational waves…
In a binary black hole merger, it is known that the inspiral portion of the waveform corresponds to two distinct horizons orbiting each other, and the merger and ringdown signals correspond to the final horizon being formed and settling…
This paper presents a quasi-local method of studying the physics of dynamical black holes in numerical simulations. This is done within the dynamical horizon framework, which extends the earlier work on isolated horizons to time-dependent…