Simulating Binary Inspirals in a Corotating Spherical Coordinate System

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Last Modified
  • March 21, 2019
Creator
  • Garrett, Travis Marshall
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
  • The gravitational waves produced by the inspiral and merger of two black holes are expected to be the first detected by the newly constructed gravitational wave observatories. Accurate theoretical models that describe the generation and shape of these gravitational waves need to be constructed. These theoretical waveforms will aid in the detection of astrophysical wave sources, and will allow us to test general relativity in the strong field regime. Numerical relativity is the leading candidate for constructing accurate waveforms, and in this thesis we develop methods to help advance the field. In particular we use a corotating spherical coordinate system to simulate the evolution of a compact binary system as it produces gravitational radiation. We combine this method with both the Weak Radiation Reaction and Hydro-without-Hydro approximations to produce stable dynamical evolutions. We also utilize Nordstrom’s conformally flat theory of gravitation as a relativistic laboratory during the development process. Additionally we perform semi-analytic calculations to determine the approximate way in which binaries decay in Nordstrom’s theory. We find an excellent agreement between our semi-analytic calculations and the orbital evolutions produced by the code, and thus conclude that these methods form a solid basis for simulating binary inspirals and the gravitational waves they produce in general relativity.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Evans, Charles
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • October 19, 2010

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