Colliding black holes from a null point of view: the close limit

TL;DR

This paper introduces a characteristic algorithm to compute perturbations of Schwarzschild black holes by solving Teukolsky equations, aiding the study of binary black hole mergers.

Contribution

It presents a novel characteristic method for perturbation analysis of black holes, enhancing nonlinear binary black hole simulations.

Findings

Effective computation of black hole perturbations

Potential improvements in binary black hole modeling

Framework compatible with nonlinear characteristic codes

Abstract

We present a characteristic algorithm for computing the perturbations of a Schwarzschild spacetime by means of solving the Teukolsky equations. Our methods and results are expected to have direct bearing on the study of binary black holes presently underway using a fully {\em nonlinear} characteristic code \cite{Gomez98a}.