Towards a cross-correlation approach to strong-field dynamics in Black Hole spacetimes

The qualitative and quantitative understanding of near-horizon gravitational dynamics in the strong-field regime represents a challenge both at a fundamental level and in astrophysical applications. Recent advances in numerical relativity and in the geometric characterization of black hole horizons open new conceptual and technical avenues into the problem. We discuss here a research methodology in which spacetime dynamics is probed through the cross-correlation of geometric quantities constructed on the black hole horizon and on null infinity. These two hypersurfaces respond to evolving gravitational fields in the bulk, providing canonical "test screens" in a "scattering"-like perspective onto spacetime dynamics. More specifically, we adopt a 3+1 Initial Value Problem approach to the construction of generic spacetimes and discuss the role and properties of dynamical trapping horizons as canonical inner "screens" in this context. We apply these ideas and techniques to the study of the recoil dynamics in post-merger binary black holes, an important issue in supermassive galactic black hole mergers.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, contribution to the proceedings volume of the Spanish Relativity Meeting ERE2011: "Towards new paradigms", Madrid, Spain, 29 Aug-2 Sep 201

Accurate Simulations of Binary Black Hole Mergers in Force-free Electrodynamics

We provide additional information on our recent study of the electromagnetic emission produced during the inspiral and merger of supermassive black holes when these are immersed in a force-free plasma threaded by a uniform magnetic field. As anticipated in a recent letter, our results show that although a dual-jet structure is present, the associated luminosity is ~100 times smaller than the total one, which is predominantly quadrupolar. Here we discuss the details of our implementation of the equations in which the force-free condition is not implemented at a discrete level, but rather obtained via a damping scheme which drives the solution to satisfy the correct condition. We show that this is important for a correct and accurate description of the current sheets that can develop in the course of the simulation. We also study in greater detail the three-dimensional charge distribution produced as a consequence of the inspiral and show that during the inspiral it possesses a complex but ordered structure which traces the motion of the two black holes. Finally, we provide quantitative estimates of the scaling of the electromagnetic emission with frequency, with the diffused part having a dependence that is the same as the gravitational-wave one and that scales as L^(non-coll)_(EM) ≈ Ω^((10/3)–(8/3)), while the collimated one scales as L^(coll)_(EM) ≈ Ω^((5/3)–(6/3)), thus with a steeper dependence than previously estimated. We discuss the impact of these results on the potential detectability of dual jets from supermassive black holes and the steps necessary for more accurate estimates

IllinoisGRMHD: An Open-Source, User-Friendly GRMHD Code for Dynamical Spacetimes

In the extreme violence of merger and mass accretion, compact objects like black holes and neutron stars are thought to launch some of the most luminous outbursts of electromagnetic and gravitational wave energy in the Universe. Modeling these systems realistically is a central problem in theoretical astrophysics, but has proven extremely challenging, requiring the development of numerical relativity codes that solve Einstein's equations for the spacetime, coupled to the equations of general relativistic (ideal) magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) for the magnetized fluids. Over the past decade, the Illinois Numerical Relativity (ILNR) Group's dynamical spacetime GRMHD code has proven itself as a robust and reliable tool for theoretical modeling of such GRMHD phenomena. However, the code was written "by experts and for experts" of the code, with a steep learning curve that would severely hinder community adoption if it were open-sourced. Here we present IllinoisGRMHD, which is an open-source, highly-extensible rewrite of the original closed-source GRMHD code of the ILNR Group. Reducing the learning curve was the primary focus of this rewrite, with the goal of facilitating community involvement in the code's use and development, as well as the minimization of human effort in generating new science. IllinoisGRMHD also saves computer time, generating roundoff-precision identical output to the original code on adaptive-mesh grids, but nearly twice as fast at scales of hundreds to thousands of cores.Comment: 37 pages, 6 figures, single column. Matches published versio

Code generation for AMReX with applications to numerical relativity

We present a new python/SymPy based code generator for producing executable numerical expressions for partial differential equations in AMReX-based applications. We demonstrate the code generator capabilities for the case of $3+1$ ADM formulations of numerical relativity for the constraint damped, conformal Z4 formulations (Z4c and CCZ4). The generated spacetime solvers are examined for stability and accuracy using a selection of checks from the standard Apples with Apples testbeds for numerical relativity applications. We also explore physically interesting vacuum spacetimes including head-on and inspiraling black hole binary collisions, and investigate the simulated gravitational waveforms from such events with the Newman-Penrose formulation of waveform extraction.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figure

Neutrino-driven Turbulent Convection and Standing Accretion Shock Instability in Three-Dimensional Core-Collapse Supernovae

We conduct a series of numerical experiments into the nature of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamics in the postbounce stalled-shock phase of core-collapse supernovae using 3D general-relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of a $27$-$M_\odot$ progenitor star with a neutrino leakage/heating scheme. We vary the strength of neutrino heating and find three cases of 3D dynamics: (1) neutrino-driven convection, (2) initially neutrino-driven convection and subsequent development of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI), (3) SASI dominated evolution. This confirms previous 3D results of Hanke et al. 2013, ApJ 770, 66 and Couch & Connor 2014, ApJ 785, 123. We carry out simulations with resolutions differing by up to a factor of $\sim$4 and demonstrate that low resolution is artificially favorable for explosion in the 3D convection-dominated case, since it decreases the efficiency of energy transport to small scales. Low resolution results in higher radial convective fluxes of energy and enthalpy, more fully buoyant mass, and stronger neutrino heating. In the SASI-dominated case, lower resolution damps SASI oscillations. In the convection-dominated case, a quasi-stationary angular kinetic energy spectrum $E(\ell)$ develops in the heating layer. Like other 3D studies, we find $E(\ell) \propto \ell^{-1}$ in the "inertial range," while theory and local simulations argue for $E(\ell) \propto \ell^{-5/3}$. We argue that current 3D simulations do not resolve the inertial range of turbulence and are affected by numerical viscosity up to the energy containing scale, creating a "bottleneck" that prevents an efficient turbulent cascade.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Added one figure and made minor modifications to text according to suggestions from the refere

Black-hole horizons as probes of black-hole dynamics I: post-merger recoil in head-on collisions

The understanding of strong-field dynamics near black-hole horizons is a long-standing and challenging prob- lem in general relativity. Recent advances in numerical relativity and in the geometric characterization of black- hole horizons open new avenues into the problem. In this first paper in a series of two, we focus on the analysis of the recoil occurring in the merger of binary black holes, extending the analysis initiated in [1] with Robinson- Trautman spacetimes. More specifically, we probe spacetime dynamics through the correlation of quantities defined at the black-hole horizon and at null infinity. The geometry of these hypersurfaces responds to bulk gravitational fields acting as test screens in a scattering perspective of spacetime dynamics. Within a 3 + 1 approach we build an effective-curvature vector from the intrinsic geometry of dynamical-horizon sections and correlate its evolution with the flux of Bondi linear momentum at large distances. We employ this setup to study numerically the head-on collision of nonspinning black holes and demonstrate its validity to track the qualita- tive aspects of recoil dynamics at infinity. We also make contact with the suggestion that the antikick can be described in terms of a "slowness parameter" and how this can be computed from the local properties of the horizon. In a companion paper [2] we will further elaborate on the geometric aspects of this approach and on its relation with other approaches to characterize dynamical properties of black-hole horizons.Comment: final version published on PR

Neorickettsia risticii surface-exposed proteins: proteomics identification, recognition by naturally-infected horses, and strain variations

Neorickettsia risticii is the Gram-negative, obligate, and intracellular bacterial pathogen responsible for Potomac horse fever (PHF): an important acute systemic disease of horses. N. risticii surface proteins, critical for immune recognition, have not been thoroughly characterized. In this paper, we identified the 51-kDa antigen (P51) as a major surface-exposed outer membrane protein of older and contemporary strains of N. risticii through mass spectrometry of streptavidin-purified biotinylated surface-labeled proteins. Western blot analysis of sera from naturally-infected horses demonstrated universal and strong recognition of recombinant P51 over other Neorickettsia recombinant proteins. Comparisons of amino acid sequences for predicted secondary structures of P51, as well as Neorickettsia surface proteins 2 (Nsp2) and 3 (Nsp3) among N. risticii strains from horses with PHF during a 26-year period throughout the United States revealed that the majority of variations among strains were concentrated in regions predicted to be external loops of their β-barrel structures. Large insertions or deletions occurred within a tandem-repeat region in Ssa3. These data demonstrate patterns of geographical association for P51 and temporal associations for Nsp2, Nsp3, and Ssa3, indicating evolutionary trends for these Neorickettsia surface antigen genes. This study showed N. risticii surface protein population dynamics, providing groundwork for designing immunodiagnostic targets for PHF

Black-hole horizons as probes of black-hole dynamics II: geometrical insights

In a companion paper [1], we have presented a cross-correlation approach to near-horizon physics in which bulk dynamics is probed through the correlation of quantities defined at inner and outer spacetime hypersurfaces acting as test screens. More specifically, dynamical horizons provide appropriate inner screens in a 3+1 setting and, in this context, we have shown that an effective-curvature vector measured at the common horizon produced in a head-on collision merger can be correlated with the flux of linear Bondi-momentum at null infinity. In this paper we provide a more sound geometric basis to this picture. First, we show that a rigidity property of dynamical horizons, namely foliation uniqueness, leads to a preferred class of null tetrads and Weyl scalars on these hypersurfaces. Second, we identify a heuristic horizon news-like function, depending only on the geometry of spatial sections of the horizon. Fluxes constructed from this function offer refined geometric quantities to be correlated with Bondi fluxes at infinity, as well as a contact with the discussion of quasi-local 4-momentum on dynamical horizons. Third, we highlight the importance of tracking the internal horizon dual to the apparent horizon in spatial 3-slices when integrating fluxes along the horizon. Finally, we discuss the link between the dissipation of the non-stationary part of the horizon's geometry with the viscous-fluid analogy for black holes, introducing a geometric prescription for a "slowness parameter" in black-hole recoil dynamics.Comment: Final version published on PR

Schreiben des Herrn Dr. C. W. Moesta an den Herausgeber

n/