Test-beds and applications for apparent horizon finders in numerical relativity

TL;DR

This paper introduces test beds for numerical apparent horizon finders in relativity, compares three methods, and applies them to various black hole and wave data sets, correcting previous results and exploring parameter spaces.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive set of test beds for horizon finders, compares different numerical methods, and applies them to complex data sets, including correcting prior findings.

Findings

Discovery of inaccuracies in previous horizon results in Brill wave data

Comparison of three different horizon finding methods

Mapping of parameter space for black hole and wave spacetimes

Abstract

We present a series of test beds for numerical codes designed to find apparent horizons. We consider three apparent horizon finders that use different numerical methods: one of them in axisymmetry, and two fully three-dimensional. We concentrate first on a toy model that has a simple horizon structure, and then go on to study single and multiple black hole data sets. We use our finders to look for apparent horizons in Brill wave initial data where we discover that some results published previously are not correct. For pure wave and multiple black hole spacetimes, we apply our finders to survey parameter space, mapping out properties of interesting data sets for future evolutions.