1,125 research outputs found
Modeling the Black Hole Excision Problem
We analyze the excision strategy for simulating black holes. The problem is
modeled by the propagation of quasi-linear waves in a 1-dimensional spatial
region with timelike outer boundary, spacelike inner boundary and a horizon in
between. Proofs of well-posed evolution and boundary algorithms for a second
differential order treatment of the system are given for the separate pieces
underlying the finite difference problem. These are implemented in a numerical
code which gives accurate long term simulations of the quasi-linear excision
problem. Excitation of long wavelength exponential modes, which are latent in
the problem, are suppressed using conservation laws for the discretized system.
The techniques are designed to apply directly to recent codes for the Einstein
equations based upon the harmonic formulation.Comment: 21 pages, 14 postscript figures, minor contents updat
Finite difference schemes for second order systems describing black holes
In the harmonic description of general relativity, the principle part of
Einstein's equations reduces to 10 curved space wave equations for the
componenets of the space-time metric. We present theorems regarding the
stability of several evolution-boundary algorithms for such equations when
treated in second order differential form. The theorems apply to a model black
hole space-time consisting of a spacelike inner boundary excising the
singularity, a timelike outer boundary and a horizon in between. These
algorithms are implemented as stable, convergent numerical codes and their
performance is compared in a 2-dimensional excision problem.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure
Constraint-preserving Sommerfeld conditions for the harmonic Einstein equations
The principle part of Einstein equations in the harmonic gauge consists of a
constrained system of 10 curved space wave equations for the components of the
space-time metric. A new formulation of constraint-preserving boundary
conditions of the Sommerfeld type for such systems has recently been proposed.
We implement these boundary conditions in a nonlinear 3D evolution code and
test their accuracy.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Problems which are well-posed in a generalized sense with applications to the Einstein equations
In the harmonic description of general relativity, the principle part of
Einstein equations reduces to a constrained system of 10 curved space wave
equations for the components of the space-time metric. We use the
pseudo-differential theory of systems which are well-posed in the generalized
sense to establish the well-posedness of constraint preserving boundary
conditions for this system when treated in second order differential form. The
boundary conditions are of a generalized Sommerfeld type that is benevolent for
numerical calculation.Comment: Final version to appear in Classical and Qunatum Gravit
A Reinvestigation of Moving Punctured Black Holes with a New Code
We report on our code, in which the moving puncture method is applied and an
adaptive/fixed mesh refinement is implemented, and on its preliminary
performance on black hole simulations. Based on the BSSN formulation,
up-to-date gauge conditions and the modifications of the formulation are also
implemented and tested. In this work we present our primary results about the
simulation of a single static black hole, of a moving single black hole, and of
the head-on collision of a binary black hole system. For the static punctured
black hole simulations, different modifications of the BSSN formulation are
applied. It is demonstrated that both the currently used sets of modifications
lead to a stable evolution. For cases of a moving punctured black hole with or
without spin, we search for viable gauge conditions and study the effect of
spin on the black hole evolution. Our results confirm previous results obtained
by other research groups. In addition, we find a new gauge condition, which has
not yet been adopted by any other researchers, which can also give stable and
accurate black hole evolution calculations. We examine the performance of the
code for the head-on collision of a binary black hole system, and the agreement
of the gravitational waveform it produces with that obtained in other works. In
order to understand qualitatively the influence of matter on the binary black
hole collisions, we also investigate the same head-on collision scenarios but
perturbed by a scalar field. The numerical simulations performed with this code
not only give stable and accurate results that are consistent with the works by
other numerical relativity groups, but also lead to the discovery of a new
viable gauge condition, as well as clarify some ambiguities in the modification
of the BSSN formulation.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in PR
On the well posedness of the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of Einstein's field equations
We give a well posed initial value formulation of the
Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura form of Einstein's equations with gauge
conditions given by a Bona-Masso like slicing condition for the lapse and a
frozen shift. This is achieved by introducing extra variables and recasting the
evolution equations into a first order symmetric hyperbolic system. We also
consider the presence of artificial boundaries and derive a set of boundary
conditions that guarantee that the resulting initial-boundary value problem is
well posed, though not necessarily compatible with the constraints. In the case
of dynamical gauge conditions for the lapse and shift we obtain a class of
evolution equations which are strongly hyperbolic and so yield well posed
initial value formulations
Global existence and exponential decay for hyperbolic dissipative relativistic fluid theories
We consider dissipative relativistic fluid theories on a fixed flat, compact,
globally hyperbolic, Lorentzian manifold. We prove that for all initial data in
a small enough neighborhood of the equilibrium states (in an appropriate
Sobolev norm), the solutions evolve smoothly in time forever and decay
exponentially to some, in general undetermined, equilibrium state. To prove
this, three conditions are imposed on these theories. The first condition
requires the system of equations to be symmetric hyperbolic, a fundamental
requisite to have a well posed and physically consistent initial value
formulation. The second condition is a generic consequence of the entropy law,
and is imposed on the non principal part of the equations. The third condition
is imposed on the principal part of the equations and it implies that the
dissipation affects all the fields of the theory. With these requirements we
prove that all the eigenvalues of the symbol associated to the system of
equations of the fluid theory have strictly negative real parts, which in fact,
is an alternative characterization for the theory to be totally dissipative.
Once this result has been obtained, a straight forward application of a general
stability theorem due to Kreiss, Ortiz, and Reula, implies the results above
mentioned.Comment: 10 pages, Late
Accurate black hole evolutions by fourth-order numerical relativity
We present techniques for successfully performing numerical relativity
simulations of binary black holes with fourth-order accuracy. Our simulations
are based on a new coding framework which currently supports higher order
finite differencing for the BSSN formulation of Einstein's equations, but which
is designed to be readily applicable to a broad class of formulations. We apply
our techniques to a standard set of numerical relativity test problems,
demonstrating the fourth-order accuracy of the solutions. Finally we apply our
approach to binary black hole head-on collisions, calculating the waveforms of
gravitational radiation generated and demonstrating significant improvements in
waveform accuracy over second-order methods with typically achievable numerical
resolution.Comment: 17 pages, 25 figure
Mixed Hyperbolic - Second-Order Parabolic Formulations of General Relativity
Two new formulations of general relativity are introduced. The first one is a
parabolization of the Arnowitt, Deser, Misner (ADM) formulation and is derived
by addition of combinations of the constraints and their derivatives to the
right-hand-side of the ADM evolution equations. The desirable property of this
modification is that it turns the surface of constraints into a local attractor
because the constraint propagation equations become second-order parabolic
independently of the gauge conditions employed. This system may be classified
as mixed hyperbolic - second-order parabolic. The second formulation is a
parabolization of the Kidder, Scheel, Teukolsky formulation and is a manifestly
mixed strongly hyperbolic - second-order parabolic set of equations, bearing
thus resemblance to the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. As a first test,
a stability analysis of flat space is carried out and it is shown that the
first modification exponentially damps and smoothes all constraint violating
modes. These systems provide a new basis for constructing schemes for long-term
and stable numerical integration of the Einstein field equations.Comment: 19 pages, two column, references added, two proofs of well-posedness
added, content changed to agree with submitted version to PR
Constraint preserving boundary conditions for the Z4c formulation of general relativity
We discuss high order absorbing constraint preserving boundary conditions for
the Z4c formulation of general relativity coupled to the moving puncture family
of gauges. We are primarily concerned with the constraint preservation and
absorption properties of these conditions. In the frozen coefficient
approximation, with an appropriate first order pseudo-differential reduction,
we show that the constraint subsystem is boundary stable on a four dimensional
compact manifold. We analyze the remainder of the initial boundary value
problem for a spherical reduction of the Z4c formulation with a particular
choice of the puncture gauge. Numerical evidence for the efficacy of the
conditions is presented in spherical symmetry.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
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