Plunge waveforms from inspiralling binary black holes

TL;DR

This paper models the gravitational waveforms emitted during the plunge phase of non-spinning binary black hole mergers by combining full numerical relativity with perturbation theory, providing detailed waveform signals and energy estimates.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid approach that merges numerical relativity and perturbation theory to accurately simulate plunge waveforms in black hole mergers.

Findings

Waveforms last for approximately 100M units of time.

Significant gravitational energy and angular momentum are radiated.

Early non-linear ringing is observed in the waveforms.

Abstract

We study the coalescence of non-spinning binary black holes from near the innermost stable circular orbit down to the final single rotating black hole. We use a technique that combines the full numerical approach to solve Einstein equations, applied in the truly non-linear regime, and linearized perturbation theory around the final distorted single black hole at later times. We compute the plunge waveforms which present a non negligible signal lasting for $t\sim 100M$ showing early non-linear ringing, and we obtain estimates for the total gravitational energy and angular momentum radiated.