Are different approaches to constructing initial data for binary black hole simulations of the same astrophysical situation equivalent?

Bryant Garcia, Geoffrey Lovelace, Lawrence E. Kidder, Michael Boyle, Saul A. Teukolsky, Mark A. Scheel, and Bela Szilagyi
Phys. Rev. D 86, 084054 – Published 31 October 2012

Abstract

Initial data for numerical evolutions of binary-black holes have been dominated by “conformally flat” (CF) data (i.e., initial data where the conformal background metric is chosen to be flat) because they are easy to construct. However, CF initial data cannot simulate nearly extremal spins, while more complicated “conformally curved” initial data (i.e., initial data in which the background metric is not explicitly chosen to be flat), such as initial data where the spatial metric is chosen to be proportional to a weighted superposition of two Kerr-Schild black holes can. Here we establish the consistency between the astrophysical results of these two initial data schemes for nonspinning binary systems. We evolve the inspiral, merger, and ringdown of two equal-mass, nonspinning black holes using superposed Kerr-Schild initial data and compare with an analogous simulation using CF initial data. We find that the resultant gravitational-waveform phases agree to within δϕ102 radians and the amplitudes agree to within δA/A5×103, which are within the numerical errors of the simulations. Furthermore, we find that the final mass and spin of the remnant black hole agree to one part in 105.

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  • Received 14 June 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.084054

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Bryant Garcia1, Geoffrey Lovelace1, Lawrence E. Kidder1, Michael Boyle1, Saul A. Teukolsky1, Mark A. Scheel2, and Bela Szilagyi2

  • 1Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
  • 2Theoretical Astrophysics 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

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Issue

Vol. 86, Iss. 8 — 15 October 2012

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