Mark D. Hannam | Searcharxiv

arXiv2005

Conformal thin-sandwich puncture initial data for boosted black holes

We apply the puncture approach to conformal thin-sandwich black-hole initial data. We solve numerically the conformal thin-sandwich puncture (CTSP) equations for a single black hole with non-zero linear momentum. We show that conformally flat solutions for a boosted black hole have the same maximum gravitational radiation content as the corresponding Bowen-York solution in the conformal transverse-traceless decomposition. We find that the physical properties of these data are independent of the free slicing parameter.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2003

Can a combination of the conformal thin-sandwich and puncture methods yield binary black hole solutions in quasi-equilibrium?

We consider combining two important methods for constructing quasi-equilibrium initial data for binary black holes: the conformal thin-sandwich formalism and the puncture method. The former seeks to enforce stationarity in the conformal three-metric and the latter attempts to avoid internal boundaries, like minimal surfaces or apparent horizons. We show that these two methods make partially conflicting requirements on the boundary conditions that determine the time slices. In particular, it does not seem possible to construct slices that are quasi-stationary and avoid physical singularities and simultaneously are connected by an everywhere positive lapse function, a condition which must obtain if internal boundaries are to be avoided. Some relaxation of these conflicting requirements may yield a soluble system, but some of the advantages that were sought in combining these approaches will be lost.

gr-qc↗