Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 16–19, 2016; Salt Lake City, Utah
Session K15: Numerical Relativity: Binary Black Hole Merger Outcomes |
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Sponsoring Units: GGR Chair: Yosef Zlochower, Rochester Institute of Technology Room: 251C |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
K15.00001: Remnant mass, spin, and recoil from spin aligned black-hole binaries II: New simulations, recoil fit and hangup studies James Healy, Carlos Lousto We present the results of 40 new simulations of nonprecessing black hole binaries with mass ratios $q=m_1/m_2$ in the range of $1/2 \leq q\leq 1$ and individual spins covering the parameter space $-1<\alpha_{1,2}<1$. This allows us to assess the accuracy of our formulae for the remnant black hole mass, spin and recoil. We find excellent agreement (typical errors $\sim0.1\%$) for the mass and spin, but $\sim5\%$ for the recoil. We hence perform 10 additional simulations of nonspinning black hole binaries with mass ratios covering the range of $1/10 < q < 1$ and find an improved fitting for the recoil velocity. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
K15.00002: Unstable Flip-flopping spinning binary black holes Carlos Lousto, James Healy We give a unified description of the flip-flop effect in spinning binary black holes
and the anti-alignment instability in terms of real and imaginary flip-flop frequencies.
We find that this instability is only effective for $0.5 |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
K15.00003: Measuring the redshift factor in binary black hole simulations Aaron Zimmerman, Adam Lewis, Harald Pfeiffer The redshift factor $z$ is an invariant quantity of fundamental interest in Post-Newtonian and self-force descriptions of circular binaries. It allows for interconnections between each theory, and plays a central role in the Laws of Binary Black Hole Mechanics, which link local quantities to asymptotic measures of energy and angular momentum in these systems. Through these laws, the redshift factor is conjectured to have a close relation to the surface gravity of the event horizons of black holes in circular orbits. We have implemented a novel method for extracting the redshift factor on apparent horizons in numerical simulations of quasicircular binary inspirals. Our results confirm the conjectured relationship between $z$ and the surface gravity of the holes. This redshift factor allows us to test PN and self-force predictions for $z$ in spacetimes where the binary is only approximately circular, and allows for an array of new comparisons between analytic approximations and numerical simulations. I will present our new method, our initial results in using $z$ to verify the Laws of Binary Black Holes Mechanics, and discuss future directions for this work. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
K15.00004: Modeling rapidly spinning, merging black holes with numerical relativity for the era of first gravitational-wave observations Geoffrey Lovelace The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO) began searching for gravitational waves in September 2015, with three times the sensitivity of the initial LIGO experiment. Merging black holes are among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for Advanced LIGO, but near the time of merger, the emitted waves can only be computed using numerical relativity. In this talk, I will present new numerical-relativity simulations of merging black holes, made using the Spectral Einstein Code [black-holes.org/SpEC.html], including cases with black-hole spins that are nearly as fast as possible. I will discuss how such simulations will be able to rapidly follow up gravitational-wave observations, improving our understanding of the waves’ sources. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
K15.00005: Tests and applications of the SXS binary black hole catalog Mark Scheel Numerical relativity is the only reliable method of computing the full gravitational waveform---including inspiral, merger, and ringdown---for strongly-gravitating systems like coalescing black holes, which are of foremost importance to gravitational-wave interferometers such as LIGO. We have used the Spectral Einstein Code [black-holes.org/SpEC.html] to construct a public catalog of hundreds of binary black hole simulations, for use by gravitational-wave science, and for calibration of fast analytic models of binary black-hole waveforms. We discuss the current status of the catalog, tests of the resulting waveforms, and selected applications. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
K15.00006: Confronting Numerical Relativity With Nature: A model-independent characterization of binary black-hole systems in LIGO Karan Jani, James Clark, Deirdre Shoemaker Stellar and Intermediate mass binary black hole systems (10-1000 solar masses) are likely to be among the strongest sources of gravitational wave detection in Advanced LIGO. In this talk we discuss the prospects for the detection and characterization of these extreme astrophysical system using robust, morphology-independent analysis techniques. In particular, we demonstrate how numerical relativity simulations of black hole collisions may be combined with waveform reconstructions to constrain properties of a binary black-hole system using only exact solutions from general relativity and any potential gravitational wave signal in the data. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
K15.00007: Effective-one-body modeling of precessing black hole binaries Andrea Taracchini, Stanislav Babak, Alessandra Buonanno Merging black hole binaries with generic spins that undergo precessional motion emit complicated gravitational-wave signals. We discuss how such waveforms can be accurately modeled within an effective-one-body approach by (i) exploiting the simplicity of the signals in a frame that corotates with the orbital plane of the binary and (ii) relying on an accurate model of nonprecessing black hole binaries. The model is validated by extensive comparisons to 70 numerical relativity simulations of precessing black hole binaries and can generate inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms for mass ratios up to 100 and any spin configuration. This work is an essential tool for studying and characterizing candidate gravitational-wave events in science runs of advanced LIGO. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
K15.00008: Surrogate models of precessing numerical relativity gravitational waveforms for use in parameter estimation Jonathan Blackman, Scott Field, Chad Galley, Daniel Hemberger, Mark Scheel, Patricia Schmidt, Rory Smith We are now in the advanced detector era of gravitational wave astronomy, and the merger of two black holes (BHs) is one of the most promising sources of gravitational waves that could be detected on earth. To infer the BH masses and spins, the observed signal must be compared to waveforms predicted by general relativity for millions of binary configurations. Numerical relativity (NR) simulations can produce accurate waveforms, but are prohibitively expensive to use for parameter estimation. Other waveform models are fast enough but may lack accuracy in portions of the parameter space. Numerical relativity surrogate models attempt to rapidly predict the results of a NR code with a small or negligible modeling error, after being trained on a set of input waveforms. Such surrogate models are ideal for parameter estimation, as they are both fast and accurate, and have already been built for the case of non-spinning BHs. Using ~250 input waveforms, we build a surrogate model for waveforms from the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC) for a subspace of precessing systems. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 17, 2016 3:06PM - 3:18PM |
K15.00009: Learning from Future Gravitational Wave Detections: Modeling and Radiated Quantities Lionel London, Frank Ohme, Sebastian Khan, Alex Vano-Vinuales, Chinmay Kalaghatgi, Sascha Husa, Nathan Johnson-McDaniel Future gravitational wave detections will enable us to directly learn which binary black hole populations are astrophysically relevant. In turn, increased knowledge of these populations allows us to perform targeted modeling studies that enable the inference of bulk features, such as radiated energy and peak luminosity. In this talk I will present strategies to followup future detections with targeted modeling studies. As an example of utility, I will discuss the inference of radiated energy and peak luminosity of binary black hole mergers. [Preview Abstract] |
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