Binary black hole evolutions of approximate puncture initial data

Journal Article · Wed Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.80.024008· OSTI ID:21316231

Bode, Tanja ^[1]; Laguna, Pablo; Shoemaker, Deirdre M ^[2]; Hinder, Ian ^[3]; Herrmann, Frank ^[4]; Vaishnav, Birjoo ^[5]

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1. Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)
2. Center for Relativistic Astrophysics and School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States)
3. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Golm (Germany)
4. Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, Texas 78520 (United States)

Approximate solutions to the Einstein field equations are valuable tools to investigate gravitational phenomena. An important aspect of any approximation is to investigate and quantify its regime of validity. We present a study that evaluates the effects that approximate puncture initial data, based on skeleton solutions to the Einstein constraints as proposed by [G. Faye, P. Jaranowski, and G. Schaefer, Phys. Rev. D 69, 124029 (2004).], have on numerical evolutions. Using data analysis tools, we assess the effectiveness of these constraint-violating initial data for both initial and advanced LIGO and show that the matches of waveforms from skeleton data with the corresponding waveforms from constraint-satisfying initial data are > or approx. 0.97 when the total mass of the binary is > or approx. 40M{sub {center_dot}}. In addition, we demonstrate that the differences between the skeleton and the constraint-satisfying initial data evolutions, and thus waveforms, are due to negative Hamiltonian constraint violations present in the skeleton initial data located in the vicinity of the punctures. During the evolution, the skeleton data develops both Hamiltonian and momentum constraint violations that decay with time, with the binary system relaxing to a constraint-satisfying solution with black holes of smaller mass and thus different dynamics.

• OSTI ID: 21316231
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 80; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
APPROXIMATIONS
BLACK HOLES
EINSTEIN FIELD EQUATIONS
EVOLUTION
GRAVITATIONAL RADIATION
HAMILTONIANS
MASS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
PARTICLE DECAY
WAVE FORMS