Related papers: Approximate Analytical Solutions to the Initial Da…
We present the first fully relativistic longterm numerical evolutions of three equal-mass black holes in a system consisting of a third black hole in a close orbit about a black-hole binary. We find that these close-three-black-hole systems…
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…
The characteristic initial value problem has been implemented as a robust computational algorithm (the PITT NULL CODE), with direct application to binary black holes. The event horizon can be analyzed by characteristic techniques as a…
It is well known that multigrid methods are optimally efficient for solution of elliptic equations (O(N)), which means that effort is proportional to the number of points at which the solution is evaluated). Thus this is an ideal method to…
Astrophysical black holes could be nearly extremal (that is, rotating nearly as fast as possible); therefore, nearly extremal black holes could be among the binaries that current and future gravitational-wave observatories will detect.…
Initial data corresponding to spacetimes containing black holes are considered in the time symmetric case. The solutions are obtained by matching across the apparent horizon different, conformally flat, spatial metrics. The exterior metric…
Two new methods have been proposed for solving the gravitational constraints without using elliptic solvers by formulating them as either an algebraic-hyperbolic or parabolic-hyperbolic system. Here, we compare these two methods and present…
We study deformations of axially symmetric initial data for Einstein-Maxwell equations satisfying the time-rotation ($t$-$\phi$) symmetry and containing one asymptotically cylindrical end and one asymptotically flat end. We find that the…
Generalizing previous work we propose how to superpose spinning black holes in a Kerr-Schild initial slice. This superposition satisfies several physically meaningful limits, including the close and the far ones. Further we consider the…
We present a new code, named COCAL - Compact Object CALculator, for the computation of equilibriums and quasiequilibrium initial data sets of single or binary compact objects of all kinds. In the cocal code, those solutions are calculated…
An orbiting black hole binary will generate strong gravitational radiation signatures, making these binaries important candidates for detection in gravitational wave observatories. The gravitational radiation is characterized by the orbital…
Detailed observations of phenomena involving black holes, be it via gravitational waves or more traditional electromagnetic means, can probe the strong field regime of the gravitational interaction. The prediction of features in such…
Given the absence of observations of black hole binaries, it is critical that the full range of accessible parameter space be explored in anticipation of future observation with gravitational wave detectors. To this end, we compile the…
To observe the dynamic formation of black holes in general relativity, one essentially needs to prove that closed trapped surfaces form during evolution from initial data that do not already contain trapped surfaces. We discuss the recent…
In this thesis we present partial progress towards the dynamic formation of black holes in the four-dimensional Einstein vacuum equations from Christodoulou's short-pulse ansatz. We identify natural scaling in a putative solution metric and…
Initial data for the spherically symmetric Einstein-Vlasov system is constructed whose past evolution is regular and whose future evolution contains a black hole. This is the first example of initial data with these properties for the…
The interaction of binary black hole mergers with their environments can be studied using numerical relativity simulations. These start only a short finite time before merger, at which point appropriate initial conditions must be imposed. A…
Binary black-hole coalescence is treated semi-analytically by a novel approach. Our prescription employs the conservative Skeleton Hamiltonian that describes orbiting Brill-Lindquist wormholes (termed punctures in Numerical Relativity)…
A shortcoming of current binary black-hole initial data is the generation of spurious gravitational radiation, so-called junk radiation, when they are evolved. This problem is a consequence of an oversimplified modeling of the binary's…
Numerical relativity became a powerful tool to investigate the dynamics of binary problems with black holes or neutron stars as well as the very structure of General Relativity. Although public numerical relativity codes are available to…