Black hole collisions from Brill-Lindquist initial data: predictions of perturbation theory

TL;DR

This paper uses perturbation theory to analyze black hole collisions from Brill-Lindquist initial data, comparing results with numerical simulations and other initial conditions to understand gravitational radiation.

Contribution

It provides the first analytic perturbation theory results for Brill-Lindquist initial data and compares them with numerical findings and Misner data.

Findings

Perturbation theory results agree with numerical simulations for close black holes.

Brill-Lindquist initial data produce comparable gravitational radiation to Misner data.

Analysis clarifies the physical interpretation of radiation from different initial configurations.

Abstract

The Misner initial value solution for two momentarily stationary black holes has been the focus of much numerical study. We report here analytic results for an astrophysically similar initial solution, that of Brill and Lindquist (BL). Results are given from perturbation theory for initially close holes and are compared with available numerical results. A comparison is made of the radiation generated from the BL and the Misner initial values, and the physical meaning is discussed.