A new program of research in computational gravitation will be initiated. Dr. Seidel's group will use supercomputers to study the Einstein equations describing axisymmetric black hole spacetimes. A numerical code to solve these equations for rotating black holes has been developed by this group, and will be used to study the evolution of distorted, rotating black holes, and black holes in collision. Waveforms of gravitational radiation emitted by these black holes will be calculated. The black hole horizons in these spacetimes will also be studied. This work will lead to a better understanding of black holes, which will be an important source of gravitational waves that may be observable by a new generation of wave detectors (LIGO and VIRGO) under development. This work will be particularly important in understanding the nonlinear dynamics of rotating black holes, which have never been studied before in detail. This axisymmetric work will also provide an important testbed for full 3D simulations that will be performed in the future.
