1 research outputs found
Late-time evolution of nonlinear gravitational collapse
We study numerically the fully nonlinear gravitational collapse of a
self-gravitating, minimally-coupled, massless scalar field in spherical
symmetry. Our numerical code is based on double-null coordinates and on free
evolution of the metric functions: The evolution equations are integrated
numerically, whereas the constraint equations are only monitored. The numerical
code is stable (unlike recent claims) and second-order accurate. We use this
code to study the late-time asymptotic behavior at fixed (outside the black
hole), along the event horizon, and along future null infinity. In all three
asymptotic regions we find that, after the decay of the quasi-normal modes, the
perturbations are dominated by inverse power-law tails. The corresponding power
indices agree with the integer values predicted by linearized theory. We also
study the case of a charged black hole nonlinearly perturbed by a (neutral)
self-gravitating scalar field, and find the same type of behavior---i.e.,
quasi-normal modes followed by inverse power-law tails, with the same indices
as in the uncharged case.Comment: 14 pages, standard LaTeX, 18 Encapsulated PostScript figures. A new
convergence test and a determination of QN ringing were added, in addition to
correction of typos and update of reference