arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Hiroyuki Nakano.
We review some of the recent dramatic developments in the fully nonlinear simulation of generic, highly-precessing, black-hole binaries, and introduce a new approach for generating hybrid post-Newtonian / Numerical waveforms for these challenging systems.
We study the statistical distributions of the spins of generic black-hole binaries during the inspiral and merger, as well as the distributions of the remnant mass, spin, and recoil velocity. For the inspiral regime, we start with a random uniform distribution of spin directions S1 and S2 and magnitudes S1=S2=0.97 for different mass ratios. Starting from a fiducial initial separation of ri=50m, we perform 3.5PN evolutions down to rf=5m. At this final fiducial separation, we compute the angular distribution of the spins with respect to the final orbital angular momentum, L. We perform 16^4 simulations for six mass ratios between q=1 and q=1/16 and compute the distribution of the angles between L and Delta and L and S, directly related to recoil velocities and total angular momentum. We find a small but statistically significant bias of the distribution towards counter-alignment of both scalar products. To study the merger of black-hole binaries, we turn to full numerical techniques. We introduce empirical formulae to describe the final remnant black hole mass, spin, and recoil velocity for merging black-hole binaries with arbitrary mass ratios and spins. We then evaluate those formulae for randomly chosen directions of the individual spins and magnitudes as well as the binary's mass ratio. We found that the magnitude of the recoil velocity distribution decays as P(v) \exp(-v/2500km/s), =630km/s, and sqrt{ - ^2}= 534km/s, leading to a 23% probability of recoils larger than 1000km/s, and a highly peaked angular distribution along the final orbital axis. The final black-hole spin magnitude show a universal distribution highly peaked at Sf/mf^2=0.73 and a 25 degrees misalignment with respect to the final orbital angular momentum.
We study black-hole binaries in the intermediate-mass-ratio regime 0.01 < q < 0.1 with a new technique that makes use of nonlinear numerical trajectories and efficient perturbative evolutions to compute waveforms at large radii for the leading and nonleading modes. As a proof-of-concept, we compute waveforms for q=1/10. We discuss applications of these techniques for LIGO/VIRGO data analysis and the possibility that our technique can be extended to produce accurate waveform templates from a modest number of fully-nonlinear numerical simulations.
The Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project is a collaborative effort between members of the numerical relativity and gravitational-wave data analysis communities. The purpose of NINJA is to study the sensitivity of existing gravitational-wave search algorithms using numerically generated waveforms and to foster closer collaboration between the numerical relativity and data analysis communities. We describe the results of the first NINJA analysis which focused on gravitational waveforms from binary black hole coalescence. Ten numerical relativity groups contributed numerical data which were used to generate a set of gravitational-wave signals. These signals were injected into a simulated data set, designed to mimic the response of the Initial LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors. Nine groups analysed this data using search and parameter-estimation pipelines. Matched filter algorithms, un-modelled-burst searches and Bayesian parameter-estimation and model-selection algorithms were applied to the data. We report the efficiency of these search methods in detecting the numerical waveforms and measuring their parameters. We describe preliminary comparisons between the different search methods and suggest improvements for future NINJA analyses.
The 2008 NRDA conference introduced the Numerical INJection Analysis project (NINJA), a new collaborative effort between the numerical relativity community and the data analysis community. NINJA focuses on modeling and searching for gravitational wave signatures from the coalescence of binary system of compact objects. We review the scope of this collaboration and the components of the first NINJA project, where numerical relativity groups shared waveforms and data analysis teams applied various techniques to detect them when embedded in colored Gaussian noise.
We consider the metric perturbations around a stationary rotating Nambu-Goto string in Minkowski spacetime. By solving the linearized Einstein equations, we study the effects of azimuthal frame-dragging around the rotation axis and linear frame-dragging along the rotation axis, the Newtonian logarithmic potential, and the angular deficit around the string as the potential mode. We also investigate gravitational waves propagating off the string and propagating along the string, and show that the stationary rotating string emits gravitational waves toward the directions specified by discrete angles from the rotation axis. Waveforms, polarizations, and amplitudes which depend on the direction are shown explicitly.
In this paper, we compare the waveforms from the post-Newtonian (PN) approach with the numerical simulations of generic black-hole binaries which have mass ratio $q\sim0.8$, arbitrarily oriented spins with magnitudes $S_1/m_1^2\sim0.6$ and $S_2/m_2^2\sim0.4$, and orbit 9 times from an initial orbital separation of $r\approx11M$ prior to merger. We observe a reasonably good agreement between the PN and numerical waveforms, with an overlap of over 98% for the first six cycles of the $(\ell=2,m=\pm2)$ mode and over 90% for the $(\ell=2,m=1)$ and $(\ell=3,m=3)$ modes.
We compare waveforms and orbital dynamics from the first long-term, fully non-linear, numerical simulations of a generic black-hole binary configuration with post-Newtonian predictions. The binary has mass ratio q~0.8 with arbitrarily oriented spins of magnitude S_1/m_1^2~0.6 and S_2/m_2^2~0.4 and orbits 9 times prior to merger. The numerical simulation starts with an initial separation of r~11M, with orbital parameters determined by initial 2.5PN and 3.5PN post-Newtonian evolutions of a quasi-circular binary with an initial separation of r=50M. The resulting binaries have very little eccentricity according to the 2.5PN and 3.5PN systems, but show significant eccentricities of e~0.01-0.02 and e~0.002-0.005 in the respective numerical simulations, thus demonstrating that 3.5PN significantly reduces the eccentricity of the binary compared to 2.5PN. We perform three numerical evolutions from r~11M with maximum resolutions of h=M/48,M/53.3,M/59.3, to verify numerical convergence. We observe a reasonably good agreement between the PN and numerical waveforms, with an overlap of nearly 99% for the first six cycles of the (l=2,m=+-2) modes, 91% for the (l=2,m=+-1) modes, and nearly 91% for the (l=3,m=+-3) modes. The phase differences between numerical and post-Newtonian approximations appear to be independent of the (l,m) modes considered and relatively small for the first 3-4 orbits. An advantage of the 3.5 PN model over the 2.5 PN one seems to be observed, which indicates that still higher PN order (perhaps even 4.0PN) may yield significantly better waveforms. In addition, we identify features in the waveforms likely related to precession and precession-induced eccentricity.
Stationary rotating strings can be viewed as geodesic motions in appropriate metrics on a two-dimensional space. We obtain all solutions describing stationary rotating strings in flat spacetime as an application. These rotating strings have infinite length with various wiggly shapes. Averaged value of the string energy, the angular momentum and the linear momentum along the string are discussed.
In order to derive the precise gravitational waveforms for extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRI), we develop a formulation for the second order metric perturbations produced by a point particle moving in the Schwarzschild spacetime. The second order waveforms satisfy a wave equation with an effective source build up from products of the first order perturbations and its derivatives. We have explicitly regularized this source at the horizon and at spatial infinity. We show that the effective source does not contain squares of the Dirac's delta and that perturbations are regular at the particle location. We introduce an asymptotically flat gauge for the radiation fields and the $\ell=0$ mode to compute explicitly the (leading) second order $\ell=2$ waveforms in the headon collision case. This case represents the first completion of the radiation reaction program self-consistently.
Unlike in the Schwarzschild black hole background, gravitational perturbations in a Kerr black hole background can not be decomposed into simple tensor harmonics in the time domain. Here, we make mode decompositions only in the azimuthal direction. As a first step, we discuss the resulting (2+1)-dimensional Klein-Gordon differential equation for scalar perturbations with a two dimensional Dirac's $δ$-function as a source representing a point particle orbiting a much larger black hole. To make this equation amenable for numerical integrations we explicitly remove analytically the singular behavior of the source and compute a global, well bahaved, effective source for the corresponding waveform.
Gravitational perturbations in a Kerr black hole background can not be decomposed into simple tensor harmonics in the time domain. Here, we make the mode decomposition only in the azimuthal direction and discuss the resulting (2+1)-dimensional Klein-Gordon differential equation for scalar perturbations with a two dimensional Dirac's $δ$-function as a source representing a point particle orbiting a much larger black hole. To make this equation amenable for numerical integrations we explicitly remove analytically the singular behavior of the source and compute a global effective source for the corresponding waveform.
There are periodic solutions to the equal-mass three-body (and N-body) problem in Newtonian gravity. The figure-eight solution is one of them. In this paper, we discuss its solution in the first and second post-Newtonian approximations to General Relativity. To do so we derive the canonical equations of motion in the ADM gauge from the three-body Hamiltonian. We then integrate those equations numerically, showing that quantities such as the energy, linear and angular momenta are conserved down to numerical error. We also study the scaling of the initial parameters with the physical size of the triple system. In this way we can assess when general relativistic results are important and we determine that this occur for distances of the order of 100M, with M the total mass of the system. For distances much closer than those, presumably the system would completely collapse due to gravitational radiation. This sets up a natural cut-off to Newtonian N-body simulations. The method can also be used to dynamically provide initial parameters for subsequent full nonlinear numerical simulations.
Black hole (BH) oscillations known as quasi-normal modes (QNMs) are one of the most important gravitational wave (GW) sources. We propose that higher perturbative order of QNMs, generated by nonlinear gravitational interaction near the BHs, are detectable and worth searching for in observations and simulations of binary BH mergers. We calculate the metric perturbations to second-order and explicitly regularize the master equation at the horizon and spatial infinity. We find that the second-order QNMs have frequencies twice the first-order ones and the GW amplitude is up to ~10% that of the first-order one. The QNM frequency would also shift blueward up to ~1%. This provides a new test of general relativity as well as a possible distance indicator.
We formulate and calculate the second order quasi-normal modes (QNMs) of a Schwarzschild black hole (BH). Gravitational wave (GW) from a distorted BH, so called ringdown, is well understood as QNMs in general relativity. Since QNMs from binary BH mergers will be detected with high signal-to-noise ratio by GW detectors, it is also possible to detect the second perturbative order of QNMs, generated by nonlinear gravitational interaction near the BH. In the BH perturbation approach, we derive the master Zerilli equation for the metric perturbation to second order and explicitly regularize it at the horizon and spatial infinity. We numerically solve the second order Zerilli equation by implementing the modified Leaver's continued fraction method. The second order QNM frequencies are found to be twice the first order ones, and the GW amplitude is up to $\sim 10%$ that of the first order for the binary BH mergers. Since the second order QNMs always exist, we can use their detections (i) to test the nonlinearity of general relativity, in particular the no-hair theorem, (ii) to remove fake events in the data analysis of QNM GWs and (iii) to measure the distance to the BH.
General orbits of a particle of small mass $μ$ around a Kerr black hole of mass $M$ are characterized by three parameters: the energy, the angular momentum and the Carter constant. The time-averaged rates of change of the energy and the angular momentum can be obtained by computing the corresponding fluxes of gravitational waves emitted by the particle. By contrast, the time-averaged rate of change of the Carter constant cannot be expressed as a flux of gravitational waves. Recently a method to compute this rate of change was proposed by Mino, and we refined it into a simplified form. In this paper we further extend our previous work to give a new formulation without the aid of expansion in terms of a small inclination angle.
We report on the first results of self-consistent second order metric perturbations produced by a point particle moving in the Schwarzschild spacetime. The second order waveforms satisfy a wave equation with an effective source term build up from products of first order metric perturbations and its derivatives. We have explicitly regularized this source term at the particle location as well as at the horizon and at spatial infinity.
We investigate the adiabatic orbital evolution of a point particle in the Kerr spacetime due to the emission of gravitational waves. In the case that the timescale of the orbital evolution is enough smaller than the typical timescale of orbits, the evolution of orbits is characterized by the change rates of three constants of motion, the energy $E$, the azimuthal angular momentum $L$, and the Carter constant $Q$. For $E$ and $L$, we can evaluate their change rates from the fluxes of the energy and the angular momentum at infinity and on the event horizon according to the balance argument. On the other hand, for the Carter constant, we cannot use the balance argument because we do not know the conserved current associated with it. %and the corresponding conservation law. Recently, Mino proposed a new method of evaluating the averaged change rate of the Carter constant by using the radiative field. In our previous paper we developed a simplified scheme for practical evaluation of the evolution of the Carter constant based on the Mino's proposal. In this paper we describe our scheme in more detail, and derive explicit analytic formulae for the change rates of the energy, the angular momentum and the Carter constant.