The 3D Grazing Collision of Two Black Holes

TL;DR

This paper reports the first full 3D numerical simulations of grazing collisions between two black holes with spin and unequal mass, providing gravitational waveforms and insights into the merger process.

Contribution

It introduces the first computation of gravitational waveforms from a grazing black hole collision using full 3D numerical evolution.

Findings

Gravitational waveforms for grazing collisions are successfully computed.

The final black hole's mass and energy radiated are consistent with initial parameters.

The study discusses implications for gravitational wave detection.

Abstract

We present results for two colliding black holes (BHs), with angular momentum, spin, and unequal mass. For the first time gravitational waveforms are computed for a grazing collision from a full 3D numerical evolution. The collision can be followed through the merger to form a single BH, and through part of the ringdown period of the final BH. The apparent horizon is tracked and studied, and physical parameters, such as the mass of the final BH, are computed. The total energy radiated in gravitational waves is shown to be consistent with the total mass of the spacetime and the final BH mass. The implication of these simulations for gravitational wave astronomy is discussed.