Abstract
We study the collision of two highly boosted equal-mass, nonrotating black holes with generic impact parameter. We find such systems to exhibit zoom-whirl behavior when fine-tuning the impact parameter. Near the threshold of immediate merger the remnant black-hole Kerr parameter can be near maximal () and the radiated energy can be as large as of the center-of-mass energy.
- Received 7 July 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.131102
©2009 American Physical Society