13,706 research outputs found
Initial data for black hole-neutron star binaries: a flexible, high-accuracy spectral method
We present a new numerical scheme to solve the initial value problem for
black hole-neutron star binaries. This method takes advantage of the
flexibility and fast convergence of a multidomain spectral representation of
the initial data to construct high-accuracy solutions at a relatively low
computational cost. We provide convergence tests of the method for both
isolated neutron stars and irrotational binaries. In the second case, we show
that we can resolve the small inconsistencies that are part of the
quasi-equilibrium formulation, and that these inconsistencies are significantly
smaller than observed in previous works. The possibility of generating a wide
variety of initial data is also demonstrated through two new configurations
inspired by results from binary black holes. First, we show that choosing a
modified Kerr-Schild conformal metric instead of a flat conformal metric allows
for the construction of quasi-equilibrium binaries with a spinning black hole.
Second, we construct binaries in low-eccentricity orbits, which are a better
approximation to astrophysical binaries than quasi-equilibrium systems.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, Modified to match final PRD versio
Controlling the growth of constraints in hyperbolic evolution systems
Motivated by the need to control the exponential growth of constraint violations in numerical solutions of the Einstein evolution equations, two methods are studied here for controlling this growth in general hyperbolic evolution systems. The first method adjusts the evolution equations dynamically, by adding multiples of the constraints, in a way designed to minimize this growth. The second method imposes special constraint preserving boundary conditions on the incoming components of the dynamical fields. The efficacy of these methods is tested by using them to control the growth of constraints in fully dynamical 3D numerical solutions of a particular representation of the Maxwell equations that is subject to constraint violations. The constraint preserving boundary conditions are found to be much more effective than active constraint control in the case of this Maxwell system
Impact of an improved neutrino energy estimate on outflows in neutron star merger simulations
Binary neutron star mergers are promising sources of gravitational waves for
ground-based detectors such as Advanced LIGO. Neutron-rich material ejected by
these mergers may also be the main source of r-process elements in the
Universe, while radioactive decays in the ejecta can power bright
electromagnetic post-merger signals. Neutrino-matter interactions play a
critical role in the evolution of the composition of the ejected material,
which significantly impacts the outcome of nucleosynthesis and the properties
of the associated electromagnetic signal. In this work, we present a simulation
of a binary neutron star merger using an improved method for estimating the
average neutrino energies in our energy-integrated neutrino transport scheme.
These energy estimates are obtained by evolving the neutrino number density in
addition to the neutrino energy and flux densities. We show that significant
changes are observed in the composition of the polar ejecta when comparing our
new results with earlier simulations in which the neutrino spectrum was assumed
to be the same everywhere in optically thin regions. In particular, we find
that material ejected in the polar regions is less neutron rich than previously
estimated. Our new estimates of the composition of the polar ejecta make it
more likely that the color and timescale of the electromagnetic signal depend
on the orientation of the binary with respect to an observer's line-of-sight.
These results also indicate that important observable properties of neutron
star mergers are sensitive to the neutrino energy spectrum, and may need to be
studied through simulations including a more accurate, energy-dependent
neutrino transport scheme.Comment: 19p, 17 figures, Accepted by Phys.Rev.
Comparing Post-Newtonian and Numerical-Relativity Precession Dynamics
Binary black-hole systems are expected to be important sources of
gravitational waves for upcoming gravitational-wave detectors. If the spins are
not colinear with each other or with the orbital angular momentum, these
systems exhibit complicated precession dynamics that are imprinted on the
gravitational waveform. We develop a new procedure to match the precession
dynamics computed by post-Newtonian (PN) theory to those of numerical binary
black-hole simulations in full general relativity. For numerical relativity NR)
simulations lasting approximately two precession cycles, we find that the PN
and NR predictions for the directions of the orbital angular momentum and the
spins agree to better than with NR during the inspiral,
increasing to near merger. Nutation of the orbital plane on the
orbital time-scale agrees well between NR and PN, whereas nutation of the spin
direction shows qualitatively different behavior in PN and NR. We also examine
how the PN equations for precession and orbital-phase evolution converge with
PN order, and we quantify the impact of various choices for handling partially
known PN terms
Numerical simulations of neutron star-black hole binaries in the near-equal-mass regime
Simulations of neutron star-black hole (NSBH) binaries generally consider
black holes with masses in the range , where we expect to find
most stellar mass black holes. The existence of lower mass black holes,
however, cannot be theoretically ruled out. Low-mass black holes in binary
systems with a neutron star companion could mimic neutron star-neutron (NSNS)
binaries, as they power similar gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic
(EM) signals. To understand the differences and similarities between NSNS
mergers and low-mass NSBH mergers, numerical simulations are required. Here, we
perform a set of simulations of low-mass NSBH mergers, including systems
compatible with GW170817. Our simulations use a composition and temperature
dependent equation of state (DD2) and approximate neutrino transport, but no
magnetic fields. We find that low-mass NSBH mergers produce remnant disks
significantly less massive than previously expected, and consistent with the
post-merger outflow mass inferred from GW170817 for moderately asymmetric mass
ratio. The dynamical ejecta produced by systems compatible with GW170817 is
negligible except if the mass ratio and black hole spin are at the edge of the
allowed parameter space. That dynamical ejecta is cold, neutron-rich, and
surprisingly slow for ejecta produced during the tidal disruption of a neutron
star : . We also find that the final mass of the remnant
black hole is consistent with existing analytical predictions, while the final
spin of that black hole is noticeably larger than expected -- up to for our equal mass case
Solving Einstein's Equations With Dual Coordinate Frames
A method is introduced for solving Einstein's equations using two distinct
coordinate systems. The coordinate basis vectors associated with one system are
used to project out components of the metric and other fields, in analogy with
the way fields are projected onto an orthonormal tetrad basis. These field
components are then determined as functions of a second independent coordinate
system. The transformation to the second coordinate system can be thought of as
a mapping from the original ``inertial'' coordinate system to the computational
domain. This dual-coordinate method is used to perform stable numerical
evolutions of a black-hole spacetime using the generalized harmonic form of
Einstein's equations in coordinates that rotate with respect to the inertial
frame at infinity; such evolutions are found to be generically unstable using a
single rotating coordinate frame. The dual-coordinate method is also used here
to evolve binary black-hole spacetimes for several orbits. The great
flexibility of this method allows comoving coordinates to be adjusted with a
feedback control system that keeps the excision boundaries of the holes within
their respective apparent horizons.Comment: Updated to agree with published versio
Initial data for black hole-neutron star binaries, with rotating stars
The coalescence of a neutron star with a black hole is a primary science
target of ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Constraining or measuring
the neutron star spin directly from gravitational wave observations requires
knowledge of the dependence of the emission properties of these systems on the
neutron star spin. This paper lays foundations for this task, by developing a
numerical method to construct initial data for black hole--neutron star
binaries with arbitrary spin on the neutron star. We demonstrate the robustness
of the code by constructing initial-data sets in large regions of the parameter
space. In addition to varying the neutron star spin-magnitude and
spin-direction, we also explore neutron star compactness, mass-ratio, black
hole spin, and black hole spin-direction. Specifically, we are able to
construct initial data sets with neutron stars spinning near centrifugal
break-up, and with black hole spins as large as .Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
High-accuracy waveforms for binary black hole inspiral, merger, and ringdown
The first spectral numerical simulations of 16 orbits, merger, and ringdown
of an equal-mass non-spinning binary black hole system are presented.
Gravitational waveforms from these simulations have accumulated numerical phase
errors through ringdown of ~0.1 radian when measured from the beginning of the
simulation, and ~0.02 radian when waveforms are time and phase shifted to agree
at the peak amplitude. The waveform seen by an observer at infinity is
determined from waveforms computed at finite radii by an extrapolation process
accurate to ~0.01 radian in phase. The phase difference between this waveform
at infinity and the waveform measured at a finite radius of r=100M is about
half a radian. The ratio of final mass to initial mass is M_f/M = 0.95162 +-
0.00002, and the final black hole spin is S_f/M_f^2=0.68646 +- 0.00004.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures; New figure added, text edited to improve
clarity, waveform made availabl
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