Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

The University Of Texas At Brownsville, Brownsville TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project is motivated by the most interesting source of gravitational waves: the inspiral of a binary pair of black holes. The final plunge of the holes toward each other, and the merger to form one final hole, must be handled by the supercomputer methods of numerical relativity, but those methods cannot handle the epoch of the binary before the plunge/merger: the many orbits in which the black holes strongly interact, but follow nearly circular orbits. This epoch of the binary will be studied using an unusual approximation scheme (the "periodic standing wave approximation") and with innovative mathematical/computational methods ("adapted coordinates"). The results of the approximation method will not only let us understand the pre-merger astrophysics, but will give crucial support to the work in numerical relativity by providing the best possible starting point for numerical relativity computations. In addition, spin-offs of the work will be new approximation/computational methods that are likely to find applicability in other fields. This work will be carried out in a very new university in an underserved region of the country; the presence of forefront scientific research activity at the university helps to provide role models for students to encourage them to consider careers in science.