6,716 research outputs found
Conformal ``thin sandwich'' data for the initial-value problem of general relativity
The initial-value problem is posed by giving a conformal three-metric on each
of two nearby spacelike hypersurfaces, their proper-time separation up to a
multiplier to be determined, and the mean (extrinsic) curvature of one slice.
The resulting equations have the {\it same} elliptic form as does the
one-hypersurface formulation. The metrical roots of this form are revealed by a
conformal ``thin sandwich'' viewpoint coupled with the transformation
properties of the lapse function.Comment: 7 pages, RevTe
Path Integral Over Black Hole Fluctuations
Evaluating a functional integral exactly over a subset of metrics that
represent the quantum fluctuations of the horizon of a black hole, we obtain a
Schroedinger equation in null coordinate time for the key component of the
metric. The equation yields a current that preserves probability if we use the
most natural choice of functional measure. This establishes the existence of
blurred horizons and a thermal atmosphere. It has been argued previously that
the existence of a thermal atmosphere is a direct concomitant of the thermal
radiation of black holes when the temperature of the hole is greater than that
of its larger environment, which we take as zero.Comment: 5 pages, added a couple of clarification
Geometrical Well Posed Systems for the Einstein Equations
We show that, given an arbitrary shift, the lapse can be chosen so that
the extrinsic curvature of the space slices with metric in
arbitrary coordinates of a solution of Einstein's equations satisfies a
quasi-linear wave equation. We give a geometric first order symmetric
hyperbolic system verified in vacuum by , and . We show
that one can also obtain a quasi-linear wave equation for by requiring
to satisfy at each time an elliptic equation which fixes the value of the mean
extrinsic curvature of the space slices.Comment: 13 pages, latex, no figure
Local and global properties of conformally flat initial data for black hole collisions
We study physical properties of conformal initial value data for single and
binary black hole configurations obtained using conformal-imaging and
conformal-puncture methods. We investigate how the total mass M_tot of a
dataset with two black holes depends on the configuration of linear or angular
momentum and separation of the holes. The asymptotic behavior of M_tot with
increasing separation allows us to make conclusions about an unphysical
``junk'' gravitation field introduced in the solutions by the conformal
approaches. We also calculate the spatial distribution of scalar invariants of
the Riemann tensor which determine the gravitational tidal forces. For single
black hole configurations, these are compared to known analytical solutions.
Spatial distribution of the invariants allows us to make certain conclusions
about the local distribution of the additional field in the numerical datasets
Excision boundary conditions for black hole initial data
We define and extensively test a set of boundary conditions that can be
applied at black hole excision surfaces when the Hamiltonian and momentum
constraints of general relativity are solved within the conformal thin-sandwich
formalism. These boundary conditions have been designed to result in black
holes that are in quasiequilibrium and are completely general in the sense that
they can be applied with any conformal three-geometry and slicing condition.
Furthermore, we show that they retain precisely the freedom to specify an
arbitrary spin on each black hole. Interestingly, we have been unable to find a
boundary condition on the lapse that can be derived from a quasiequilibrium
condition. Rather, we find evidence that the lapse boundary condition is part
of the initial temporal gauge choice. To test these boundary conditions, we
have extensively explored the case of a single black hole and the case of a
binary system of equal-mass black holes, including the computation of
quasi-circular orbits and the determination of the inner-most stable circular
orbit. Our tests show that the boundary conditions work well.Comment: 23 pages, 23 figures, revtex4, corrected typos, added reference,
minor content changes including additional post-Newtonian comparison. Version
accepted by PR
Action and Energy of the Gravitational Field
We present a detailed examination of the variational principle for metric
general relativity as applied to a ``quasilocal'' spacetime region \M (that
is, a region that is both spatially and temporally bounded). Our analysis
relies on the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, and thereby
assumes a foliation of \M into spacelike hypersurfaces . We allow for
near complete generality in the choice of foliation. Using a field--theoretic
generalization of Hamilton--Jacobi theory, we define the quasilocal
stress-energy-momentum of the gravitational field by varying the action with
respect to the metric on the boundary \partial\M. The gravitational
stress-energy-momentum is defined for a two--surface spanned by a spacelike
hypersurface in spacetime. We examine the behavior of the gravitational
stress-energy-momentum under boosts of the spanning hypersurface. The boost
relations are derived from the geometrical and invariance properties of the
gravitational action and Hamiltonian. Finally, we present several new examples
of quasilocal energy--momentum, including a novel discussion of quasilocal
energy--momentum in the large-sphere limit towards spatial infinity.Comment: To be published in Annals of Physics. This final version includes two
new sections, one giving examples of quasilocal energy and the other
containing a discussion of energy at spatial infinity. References have been
added to papers by Bose and Dadhich, Anco and Tun
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