A new dissipation term for finite-difference simulations in Relativity

We present a new numerical dissipation algorithm, which can be efficiently used in combination with centered finite-difference methods. We start from a formulation of centered finite-volume methods for Numerical Relativity, in which third-order space accuracy can be obtained by employing just piecewise-linear reconstruction. We obtain a simplified version of the algorithm, which can be viewed as a centered finite-difference method plus some 'adaptive dissipation'. The performance of this algorithm is confirmed by numerical results obtained from 3D black hole simulations.Comment: Talk presented at the Spanish Relativity Meeting (Tenerife 2007

Constraint-preserving boundary conditions in the 3+1 first-order approach

A set of energy-momentum constraint-preserving boundary conditions is proposed for the first-order Z4 case. The stability of a simple numerical implementation is tested in the linear regime (robust stability test), both with the standard corner and vertex treatment and with a modified finite-differences stencil for boundary points which avoids corners and vertices even in cartesian-like grids. Moreover, the proposed boundary conditions are tested in a strong field scenario, the Gowdy waves metric, showing the expected rate of convergence. The accumulated amount of energy-momentum constraint violations is similar or even smaller than the one generated by either periodic or reflection conditions, which are exact in the Gowdy waves case. As a side theoretical result, a new symmetrizer is explicitly given, which extends the parametric domain of symmetric hyperbolicity for the Z4 formalism. The application of these results to first-order BSSN-like formalisms is also considered.Comment: Revised version, with conclusive numerical evidence. 23 pages, 12 figure

New Formalism for Numerical Relativity

We present a new formulation of the Einstein equations that casts them in an explicitly first order, flux-conservative, hyperbolic form. We show that this now can be done for a wide class of time slicing conditions, including maximal slicing, making it potentially very useful for numerical relativity. This development permits the application to the Einstein equations of advanced numerical methods developed to solve the fluid dynamic equations, {\em without} overly restricting the time slicing, for the first time. The full set of characteristic fields and speeds is explicitly given.Comment: uucompresed PS file. 4 pages including 1 figure. Revised version adds a figure showing a comparison between the standard ADM approach and the new formulation. Also available at http://jean-luc.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Papers/ Appeared in Physical Review Letters 75, 600 (1995

Flux Limiter Methods in 3D Numerical Relativity

New numerical methods have been applied in relativity to obtain a numerical evolution of Einstein equations much more robust and stable. Starting from 3+1 formalism and with the evolution equations written as a FOFCH (first-order flux conservative hyperbolic) system, advanced numerical methods from CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) have been successfully applied. A flux limiter mechanism has been implemented in order to deal with steep gradients like the ones usually associated with black hole spacetimes. As a test bed, the method has been applied to 3D metrics describing propagation of nonlinear gauge waves. Results are compared with the ones obtained with standard methods, showing a great increase in both robustness and stability of the numerical algorithm.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. to be published in the Procedings of ERE0

Elliptic solutions and solitary waves of a higher order KdV--BBM long wave equation

We provide conditions for existence of hyperbolic, unbounded periodic and elliptic solutions in terms of Weierstrass $\wp$ functions of both third and fifth-order KdV--BBM (Korteweg-de Vries--Benjamin, Bona \& Mahony) regularized long wave equation. An analysis for the initial value problem is developed together with a local and global well-posedness theory for the third-order KdV--BBM equation. Traveling wave reduction is used together with zero boundary conditions to yield solitons and periodic unbounded solutions, while for nonzero boundary conditions we find solutions in terms of Weierstrass elliptic $\wp$ functions. For the fifth-order KdV--BBM equation we show that a parameter $\gamma=\frac {1}{12}$, for which the equation has a Hamiltonian, represents a restriction for which there are constraint curves that never intersect a region of unbounded solitary waves, which in turn shows that only dark or bright solitons and no unbounded solutions exist. Motivated by the lack of a Hamiltonian structure for $\gamma\neq\frac{1}{12}$ we develop $H^k$ bounds, and we show for the non Hamiltonian system that dark and bright solitons coexist together with unbounded periodic solutions. For nonzero boundary conditions, due to the complexity of the nonlinear algebraic system of coefficients of the elliptic equation we construct Weierstrass solutions for a particular set of parameters only.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Gauge and constraint degrees of freedom: from analytical to numerical approximations in General Relativity

The harmonic formulation of Einstein's field equations is considered, where the gauge conditions are introduced as dynamical constraints. The difference between the fully constrained approach (used in analytical approximations) and the free evolution one (used in most numerical approximations) is pointed out. As a generalization, quasi-stationary gauge conditions are also discussed, including numerical experiments with the gauge-waves testbed. The complementary 3+1 approach is also considered, where constraints are related instead with energy and momentum first integrals and the gauge must be provided separately. The relationship between the two formalisms is discussed in a more general framework (Z4 formalism). Different strategies in black hole simulations follow when introducing singularity avoidance as a requirement. More flexible quasi-stationary gauge conditions are proposed in this context, which can be seen as generalizations of the current 'freezing shift' prescriptions.Comment: Talk given at the Spanish Relativity Meeting, Tenerife, September 200