Finite element computation of the gravitational radiation emitted by a pointlike object orbiting a nonrotating black hole

Carlos F. Sopuerta and Pablo Laguna
Phys. Rev. D 73, 044028 – Published 23 February 2006

Abstract

The description of extreme-mass-ratio binary systems in the inspiral phase is a challenging problem in gravitational wave physics with significant relevance for the space interferometer LISA. The main difficulty lies in the evaluation of the effects of the small body’s gravitational field on itself. To that end, an accurate computation of the perturbations produced by the small body with respect the background geometry of the large object, a massive black hole, is required. In this paper we present a new computational approach based on finite element methods to solve the master equations describing perturbations of nonrotating black holes due to an orbiting pointlike object. The numerical computations are carried out in the time domain by using evolution algorithms for wave-type equations. We show the accuracy of the method by comparing our calculations with previous results in the literature. Finally, we discuss the relevance of this method for achieving accurate descriptions of extreme-mass-ratio binaries.

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  • Received 7 December 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.73.044028

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Carlos F. Sopuerta1 and Pablo Laguna1,2

  • 1Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry and Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

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Vol. 73, Iss. 4 — 15 February 2006

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