Numerical Relativity and Astrophysics

TL;DR

Numerical relativity is crucial for modeling extreme astrophysical events involving strong gravity, enabling the understanding of phenomena like black hole mergers and gravitational wave emission, which are vital for astrophysics and gravitational wave astronomy.

Contribution

This review summarizes recent advances in numerical relativity and highlights its significant impact on understanding complex astrophysical phenomena.

Findings

Numerical relativity successfully models black hole mergers.

It predicts gravitational wave signals detectable by observatories.

Enhances understanding of high-energy astrophysical processes.

Abstract

Throughout the Universe many powerful events are driven by strong gravitational effects that require general relativity to fully describe them. These include compact binary mergers, black hole accretion and stellar collapse, where velocities can approach the speed of light, and extreme gravitational fields --$\Phi_{\rm Newt}/c^2 \simeq 1$-- mediate the interactions. Many of these processes trigger emission across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Compact binaries further source strong gravitational wave emission that could directly be detected in the near future. This feat will open up a gravitational wave window into our Universe and revolutionize its understanding. Describing these phenomena requires general relativity, and --where dynamical effects strongly modify gravitational fields-- the full Einstein equations coupled to matter sources. Numerical relativity is a field within general relativity concerned with studying such scenarios that cannot be accurately modeled via perturbative or analytical calculations. In this review, we examine results obtained within this discipline, with a focus on its impact in astrophysics.