2,297 research outputs found
The Synergy between Numerical and Perturbative Approaches to Black Holes
I describe approaches to the study of black hole spacetimes via numerical
relativity. After a brief review of the basic formalisms and techniques used in
numerical black hole simulations, I discuss a series of calculations from
axisymmetry to full 3D that can be seen as stepping stones to simulations of
the full 3D coalescence of two black holes. In particular, I emphasize the
interplay between perturbation theory and numerical simulation that build both
confidence in present results and tools to aid and to interpret results of
future simulations of black hole coalescence.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, To appear in "On the Black Hole Trail" eds. Bala
Iyer and Biplab Bhawal (Kluwer
Numerical Relativity As A Tool For Computational Astrophysics
The astrophysics of compact objects, which requires Einstein's theory of
general relativity for understanding phenomena such as black holes and neutron
stars, is attracting increasing attention. In general relativity, gravity is
governed by an extremely complex set of coupled, nonlinear, hyperbolic-elliptic
partial differential equations. The largest parallel supercomputers are finally
approaching the speed and memory required to solve the complete set of
Einstein's equations for the first time since they were written over 80 years
ago, allowing one to attempt full 3D simulations of such exciting events as
colliding black holes and neutron stars. In this paper we review the
computational effort in this direction, and discuss a new 3D multi-purpose
parallel code called ``Cactus'' for general relativistic astrophysics.
Directions for further work are indicated where appropriate.Comment: Review for JCA
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