A slightly less grand challenge: Colliding Black Holes using perturbation techniques

TL;DR

This paper explores using perturbation methods as a computationally efficient alternative to supercomputers for modeling gravitational waves from colliding black holes, focusing on various initial configurations and comparing results.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effectiveness of perturbation techniques in calculating gravitational radiation for different black hole collision scenarios, expanding the toolkit beyond supercomputer simulations.

Findings

Perturbation methods produce results comparable to supercomputer calculations.

Effective for initial configurations close to black hole mergers.

Applicable to axisymmetric and non-symmetric black hole collisions.

Abstract

Perturbation techniques can be used as an alternative to supercomputer calculations in calculating gravitational radiation emitted by colliding black holes, provided the process starts with the black holes close to each other. We give a summary of the method and of the results obtained for various initial configurations, both axisymmetric and without symmetry: Initially static, boosted towards each other, counter-rotating, or boosted at an angle (pseudo-inspiral). Where applicable, we compare the perturbation results with supercomputer calculations.