680 research outputs found
Super-Extremal Spinning Black Holes via Accretion
A Kerr black hole with mass and angular momentum satisfies the
extremality inequality . In the presence of matter and/or
gravitational radiation, this bound needs to be reformulated in terms of local
measurements of the mass and the angular momentum directly associated with the
black hole. The isolated and dynamical horizon framework provides such
quasi-local characterization of black hole mass and angular momentum. With this
framework, it is possible in axisymmetry to reformulate the extremality limit
as , with the irreducible mass of the black hole
computed from its apparent horizon area and obtained using approximate
rotational Killing vectors on the apparent horizon. The
condition is also equivalent to requiring a non-negative black hole surface
gravity. We present numerical experiments of an accreting black hole that
temporarily violates this extremality inequality. The initial configuration
consists of a single, rotating black hole surrounded by a thick, shell cloud of
negative energy density. For these numerical experiments, we introduce a new
matter-without-matter evolution method.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Solving the Initial Value Problem of two Black Holes
We solve the elliptic equations associated with the Hamiltonian and momentum
constraints, corresponding to a system composed of two black holes with
arbitrary linear and angular momentum. These new solutions are based on a
Kerr-Schild spacetime slicing which provides more physically realistic
solutions than the initial data based on conformally flat metric/maximal
slicing methods. The singularity/inner boundary problems are circumvented by a
new technique that allows the use of an elliptic solver on a Cartesian grid
where no points are excised, simplifying enormously the numerical problem.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Minor corrections, some points clarified, and one
reference added. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Collisions of strings with Y junctions
We study the dynamics of Nambu--Goto strings with junctions at which three
strings meet. In particular, we exhibit one simple exact solution and examine
the process of intercommuting of two straight strings, in which they exchange
partners but become joined by a third string. We show that there are important
kinematical constraints on this process. The exchange cannot occur if the
strings meet with very large relative velocity. This may have important
implications for the evolution of cosmic superstring networks and non-abelian
string networks.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, uses revtex 4. Clarifying comments added to
correct a conceptual error, reference updated. Version accepted by Phys Rev
Letters, with additional references and minor change
Kinematic Constraints on Formation of Bound States of Cosmic Strings - Field Theoretical Approach
Superstring theory predicts the potential formation of string networks with
bound states ending in junctions. Kinematic constraints for junction formation
have been derived within the Nambu-Goto thin string approximation. Here we test
these constraints numerically in the framework of the Abelian-Higgs model in
the Type-I regime and report on good agreement with the analytical predictions.
We also demonstrate that strings can effectively pass through each other when
they meet at speeds slightly above the critical velocity permitting bound state
formation. This is due to reconnection effects that are beyond the scope of the
Nambu-Goto approximation.Comment: 6 pages, 12 eps figures - matches the published versio
Supernova Hosts for Gamma-Ray Burst Jets: Dynamical Constraints
I constrain a possible supernova origin for gamma-ray bursts by modeling the
dynamical interaction between a relativistic jet and a stellar envelope
surrounding it. The delay in observer's time introduced by the jet traversing
the envelope should not be long compared to the duration of gamma-ray emission;
also, the jet should not be swallowed by a spherical explosion it powers. The
only stellar progenitors that comfortably satisfy these constraints, if one
assumes that jets move ballistically within their host stars, are compact
carbon-oxygen or helium post-Wolf-Rayet stars (type Ic or Ib supernovae); type
II supernovae are ruled out. Notably, very massive stars do not appear capable
of producing the observed bursts at any redshift unless the stellar envelope is
stripped prior to collapse. The presence of a dense stellar wind places an
upper limit on the Lorentz factor of the jet in the internal shock model;
however, this constraint may be evaded if the wind is swept forward by a photon
precursor. Shock breakout and cocoon blowout are considered individually;
neither presents a likely source of precursors for cosmological GRBs.
These envelope constraints could conceivably be circumvented if jets are
laterally pressure-confined while traversing the outer stellar envelope. If so,
jets responsible for observed GRBs must either have been launched from a region
several hundred kilometers wide, or have mixed with envelope material as they
travel. A phase of pressure confinement and mixing would imprint correlations
among jets that may explain observed GRB variability-luminosity and
lag-luminosity correlations.Comment: 17 pages, MNRAS, accepted. Contains new analysis of pressure-confined
jets, of jets that experience oblique shocks or mix with their cocoons, and
of cocoons after breakou
Gravitational recoil from spinning binary black hole mergers
The inspiral and merger of binary black holes will likely involve black holes
with both unequal masses and arbitrary spins. The gravitational radiation
emitted by these binaries will carry angular as well as linear momentum. A net
flux of emitted linear momentum implies that the black hole produced by the
merger will experience a recoil or kick. Previous studies have focused on the
recoil velocity from unequal mass, non-spinning binaries. We present results
from simulations of equal mass but spinning black hole binaries and show how a
significant gravitational recoil can also be obtained in these situations. We
consider the case of black holes with opposite spins of magnitude
aligned/anti-aligned with the orbital angular momentum, with the
dimensionless spin parameters of the individual holes. For the initial setups
under consideration, we find a recoil velocity of V = 475 \KMS a.
Supermassive black hole mergers producing kicks of this magnitude could result
in the ejection from the cores of dwarf galaxies of the final hole produced by
the collision.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, replaced with version accepted for publication in
Ap
Adaptive Event Horizon Tracking and Critical Phenomena in Binary Black Hole Coalescence
This work establishes critical phenomena in the topological transition of
black hole coalescence. We describe and validate a computational front tracking
event horizon solver, developed for generic studies of the black hole
coalescence problem. We then apply this to the Kastor - Traschen axisymmetric
analytic solution of the extremal Maxwell - Einstein black hole merger with
cosmological constant. The surprising result of this computational analysis is
a power law scaling of the minimal throat proportional to time. The minimal
throat connecting the two holes obeys this power law during a short time
immediately at the beginning of merger. We also confirm the behavior
analytically. Thus, at least in one axisymmetric situation a critical
phenomenon exists. We give arguments for a broader universality class than the
restricted requirements of the Kastor - Traschen solution.Comment: 13 pages, 20 figures Corrected labels on figures 17 through 20.
Corrected typos in references. Added some comment
Generic Tracking of Multiple Apparent Horizons with Level Flow
We report the development of the first apparent horizon locator capable of
finding multiple apparent horizons in a ``generic'' numerical black hole
spacetime. We use a level-flow method which, starting from a single arbitrary
initial trial surface, can undergo topology changes as it flows towards
disjoint apparent horizons if they are present. The level flow method has two
advantages: 1) The solution is independent of changes in the initial guess and
2) The solution can have multiple components. We illustrate our method of
locating apparent horizons by tracking horizon components in a short
Kerr-Schild binary black hole grazing collision.Comment: 13 pages including figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Axisymmetric Stationary Solutions as Harmonic Maps
We present a method for generating exact solutions of Einstein equations in
vacuum using harmonic maps, when the spacetime possesses two commutating
Killing vectors. This method consists in writing the axisymmetric stationry
Einstein equations in vacuum as a harmonic map which belongs to the group
SL(2,R), and decomposing it in its harmonic "submaps". This method provides a
natural classification of the solutions in classes (Weil's class, Lewis' class
etc).Comment: 17 TeX pages, one table,( CINVESTAV- preprint 12/93
- …