Related papers: Geometric horizons in binary black hole mergers
Testing general relativity in the non-linear, dynamical, strong-field regime of gravity is one of the major goals of gravitational wave astrophysics. Performing precision tests of general relativity (GR) requires numerical inspiral, merger,…
We study the issue of algebraic classification of the Weyl curvature tensor, with a particular focus on numerical relativity simulations. The spacetimes of interest in this context, binary black hole mergers, and the ringdowns that follow…
We study the correlation between a part of the gravitational field at the common dynamical horizon in the strong field regime and the news of the gravitational radiation received from the system in the weak field regime, in the post-merger…
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…
We regard binary black hole (BBH) merger as a map from a simple initial state (two Kerr black holes, with dimensionless spins {\bf a} and {\bf b}) to a simple final state (a Kerr black hole with mass m, dimensionless spin {\bf s}, and kick…
We find the first binary black hole event horizon with a toroidal topology. It had been predicted that generically the event horizons of merging black holes should briefly have a toroidal topology, but such a phase has never been seen prior…
We measure the gravitational recoil for unequal-mass-black- hole-binary mergers, with the larger BH having spin a/m^H=0.8, and the smaller BH non-spinning. We choose our configurations such that, initially, the spins lie on the orbital…
We present results obtained by scattering a scalar field off the curved background of a coalescing binary black hole system. A massless scalar field is evolved on a set of fixed backgrounds, each provided by a spatial hypersurface generated…
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 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…
Binary black hole spacetimes with a helical Killing vector, which are discussed as an approximation for the early stage of a binary system, are studied in a projection formalism. In this setting the four dimensional Einstein equations are…
A new solution of four-dimensional vacuum General Relativity is presented. It describes the near horizon region of the extreme (maximally spinning) binary black hole system with two identical extreme Kerr black holes held in equilibrium by…
Binary black holes (BBHs) are one of the endpoints of isolated binary evolution, and their mergers a leading channel for gravitational wave events. Here, using the evolutionary code \textsc{StarTrack}, we study the statistical properties of…
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…
A remarkable series of breakthroughs in numerical relativity modeling of black hole binary mergers has occurred over the past few years. This paper provides a general overview of these exciting developments, focusing on recent progress in…
We present the first simulations of non-headon (grazing) collisions of binary black holes in which the black hole singularities have been excised from the computational domain. Initially two equal mass black holes $m$ are separated a…
We study gravitational wave emission and the structure and formation of apparent horizons in orbiting black-hole binary systems in higher-dimensional general relativity. For this purpose we present an apparent horizon finder for use in…
We study various mathematical aspects of the charged rotating black hole with two equal-magnitude angular momenta in five dimensions. We introduce a coordinate system that is regular on the horizon and in which Einstein-Maxwell equations…
We discuss a sequence of numerically constructed geometries describing binary black hole event horizons -- providing the necessary input for characteristic evolution of the exterior spacetime. Our sequence approaches a single Schwarzschild…
The detection of gravitational waves from the merger of binary black holes by the LIGO Collaboration has opened a new window to astrophysics. With the sensitivities of ground based detectors in the coming years we can only detect the local…