The goal of this project is to develop new computational methods to study the gravitational waves generated during the inspiral and merger of co-orbiting black holes. The approach uses techniques for solving Einstein's equations which have been recently developed in collaboration with computational mathematicians and thoroughly calibrated on test problems. They have been implemented as a community resource in the Einstein toolkit, which is used by the many research groups involved in black hole simulations. The techniques will be further developed to measure the loss of energy and angular momentum carried off by the gravitational waves.
Waves, such as water, sound and electromagnetic waves, are a prominent feature of physical systems. A revolutionary prediction of Einstein's gravitational theory is that accelerated bodies produce gravitational waves, analogous to the way electric charges produce electromagnetic waves. At present, gravitational waves have only been detected indirectly by the way they deplete energy from two co-orbiting pulsars. A Laser Interferometric Gravity Wave Observatory (LIGO) has been constructed that is expected to open up a new form of astronomy by direct detection of these waves. The most powerful source of gravitational waves is the inspiral and merger of two co-orbiting black holes. Computer simulations provide the theoretical details necessary for LIGO to tune in on the gravitational signal and monitor the dynamics of the merger.
