Related papers: Boosted three-dimensional black-hole evolutions wi…
We present a singularity excision algorithm appropriate for numerical simulations of black holes moving throughout the computational domain. The method is an extension of the excision procedure previously used to obtain stable simulations…
We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of an isolated star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use equal-mass direct N-body simulations, with N…
We study the dynamical evolution of supermassive black holes, in the late stage of galaxy mergers, from kpc to pc scales. In particular, we capture the formation of the binary, a necessary step before the final coalescence, and trace back…
This paper studies the formation and evolution of binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in rotating galactic nuclei, focusing on the role of stellar dynamics. We present the first N-body simulations that follow the evolution of the SMBHs…
The dynamical evolution of binaries of intermediate-massive black holes (IMBHs, massive black holes with a mass ranging between $10^2$ and $10^4 M_{\odot}$) in stellar clusters has recently received an increasing amount of attention. This…
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…
We present techniques for long-term, stable, and accurate evolutions of multiple-black-hole spacetimes using the `moving puncture' approach with fourth- and eighth-order finite difference stencils. We use these techniques to explore…
We study the evolution of a massive black hole pair in a rotationally supported nuclear disc. The distributions of stars and gas mimic the nuclear region of a gas-rich galaxy merger remnant. Using high-resolution SPH simulations, we follow…
Beyond all reasonable doubt, black holes are commonly found in the nuclei of most normal galaxies. In recent years, dynamical measurements of hole masses have transformed the study of their functioning and evolution. In particular, relating…
The close limit approximation of binary black hole is a powerful method to study gravitational-wave emission from highly non-linear geometries. In this work, we use it as a tool to model black hole spacetimes in theories of gravity with a…
[Abridged] In galactic nuclei with sufficiently short relaxation times, binary supermassive black holes can evolve beyond their stalling radii via continued interaction with stars. We study this "collisional" evolutionary regime using both…
We consider the evolution of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) surrounded by a retrograde accretion disk. Assuming the disk is exactly in the binary plane and transfers energy and angular momentum to the binary via direct gas…
I review the evolution of binary supermassive black holes and focus on the stellar-dynamical mechanisms that may help to overcome the final-parsec problem - the possible stalling of the binary at a separation much larger than is required…
We perform the first fully nonlinear numerical simulations of black-hole binaries with mass ratios 100:1. Our technique for evolving such extreme mass ratios is based on the moving puncture approach with a new gauge condition and an optimal…
Binary black holes occupy a special place in our quest for understanding the evolution of galaxies along cosmic history. If massive black holes grow at the center of (pre-)galactic structures that experience a sequence of merger episodes,…
We study numerically the evolution of spactime, and in particular of a spacetime singularity, inside a black hole under a class of perturbations of non-compact support. We use a very simplified toy model of a spherical charged black hole…
We model for the first time the complete orbital evolution of a pair of Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) in a 1:10 galaxy merger of two disk dominated gas-rich galaxies, from the stage prior to the formation of the binary up to the onset of…
In this exploratory study, we demonstrate the capability of the numerical-relativity code BAM to simulate fully relativistic black-hole binary-single and binary-binary encounters. While previous work has demonstrated the general capability…
We present numerical evolutions of three equal-mass black holes using the moving puncture approach. We calculate puncture initial data for three black holes solving the constraint equations by means of a high-order multigrid elliptic…
The use of modern effective field theory techniques has sparked significant developments in many areas of physics, including the study of gravity. Case in point, such techniques have recently been used to show that binary black holes can…