arXiv subjects

Peter Anninos

Publications and source records attributed to Peter Anninos.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv1995

Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from the Rees-Sciama Effect in $Ω_{0} \le 1$ Universes

We investigate the imprint of nonlinear matter condensations on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in $Ω_{0}<1$ cold dark matter (CDM) model universes. We consider simulation domains ranging from $120h^{-1}$ Mpc to $360h^{-1}$ Mpc in size. We concentrate on the secondary temperature anisotropies induced by time varying gravitational potentials occurring after decoupling. Specifically, we investigate the importance of the Rees-Sciama effect due to: (1) intrinsic changes in the gravitational potential of forming, nonlinear structures, (2) proper motion of nonlinear structures, and (3) late time decay of gravitational potential perturbations in open universes. CMB temperature anisotropies are obtained by numerically evolving matter inhomogeneities and CMB photons from an early, linear epoch ($z=100$) to the present, nonlinear epoch $(z=0)$. We test the dependence and relative importance of these secondary temperature anisotropies as a function of the scale of the underlying matter (voids, superclusters) and as a function of $Ω_{0}$. The results of the $Ω_{0}<1$ models are compared to a similarly executed $Ω_{0}=1.0$ simulation. We find that in low density models all three sources of anisotropy could be relevant and reach levels of $ΔT/T \sim 10^{-6}$. In particular, we find that for $Ω_{0}<1$ at large scales, secondary temperature anisotropies are dominated by the decaying potential.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1995

A Multi-Species Model for Hydrogen and Helium Absorbers in Lyman-Alpha Forest Clouds

We have performed a multi-species hydrodynamical simulation of the formation and evolution of Lyman alpha clouds in a flat CDM dominated universe with an external flux of ionizing radiation. We solve the fully coupled non-equilibrium rate equations for the following species: H, H^+, H^-, H_2, H_2^+, He, He^+, He^{++}, and e^-. The statistical properties of the distribution and evolution of both hydrogen and helium absorption lines are extracted and compared to observed data. We find excellent agreement for the following neutral hydrogen data: the distribution of column densities is fit well by a power law with exponent beta=1.55 with a possible deficiency of lines above column density 10^{15} cm^{-2}; the integrated distribution matches observed data over a broad range of column densities 10^{13} to 10^{17} cm^{-2}; a Gaussian statistical fit to the Doppler parameter distribution yields a median of 35.6 km s^{-1}; the evolution of the number of clouds with column densities larger than 10^{14} cm^{-2} follows a power law with exponent gamma=2.22. Analogous calculations are presented for HeII absorption lines and we find the ratio of Doppler parameters b_{HeII}/b_{HI} = 0.87. Our data also suggests that Ly$α$ clouds may belong to two morphologically different groups: small column density clouds which tend to reside in sheets or filamental structures and are very elongated and/or flattened, and the large column density clouds which are typically found at the intersections of these caustic structures and are quasi-spherical.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1995

Head-on collision of two black holes: comparison of different approaches

A benchmark problem for numerical relativity has been the head-on collision of two black holes starting from the ``Misner initial data,'' a closed form momentarily stationary solution to the constraint equations with an adjustable closeness parameter $μ_0$. We show here how an eclectic mixture of approximation methods can provide both an efficient means of determining the time development of the initial data and a good understanding of the physics of the problem. When the Misner data is chosen to correspond to holes initially very close together, a common horizon surrounds both holes and the geometry exterior to the horizon can be treated as a non-spherical perturbation of a single Schwarzschild hole. When the holes are initially well separated the problem can be treated with a different approximation scheme, ``the particle-membrane method.'' For all initial separations, numerical relativity is in principle applicable, but is costly and of uncertain accuracy. We present here a comparison of the different approaches. We compare waveforms, for $\ell=2$ and $\ell=4$ radiation, for different values of $μ_0$, from the three different approaches to the problem.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1995

Three dimensional numerical relativity: the evolution of black holes

We report on a new 3D numerical code designed to solve the Einstein equations for general vacuum spacetimes. This code is based on the standard 3+1 approach using cartesian coordinates. We discuss the numerical techniques used in developing this code, and its performance on massively parallel and vector supercomputers. As a test case, we present evolutions for the first 3D black hole spacetimes. We identify a number of difficulties in evolving 3D black holes and suggest approaches to overcome them. We show how special treatment of the conformal factor can lead to more accurate evolution, and discuss techniques we developed to handle black hole spacetimes in the absence of symmetries. Many different slicing conditions are tested, including geodesic, maximal, and various algebraic conditions on the lapse. With current resolutions, limited by computer memory sizes, we show that with certain lapse conditions we can evolve the black hole to about $t=50M$, where $M$ is the black hole mass. Comparisons are made with results obtained by evolving spherical initial black hole data sets with a 1D spherically symmetric code. We also demonstrate that an ``apparent horizon locking shift'' can be used to prevent the development of large gradients in the metric functions that result from singularity avoiding time slicings. We compute the mass of the apparent horizon in these spacetimes, and find that in many cases it can be conserved to within about 5\% throughout the evolution with our techniques and current resolution.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

Horizon Boundary Condition for Black Hole Spacetimes

It was recently shown that spacetime singularities in numerical relativity could be avoided by excising a region inside the apparent horizon in numerical evolutions. In this paper we report on the details of the implementation of this scheme. The scheme is based on using (1)~a horizon locking coordinate which locks the coordinate system to the geometry, and (2)~a finite differencing scheme which respects the causal structure of the spacetime. We show that the horizon locking coordinate can be affected by a number of shift conditions, such as a ``distance freezing'' shift, an ``area freezing'' shift, an ``expansion freezing'' shift, or the minimal distortion shift. The causal differencing scheme is illustrated with the evolution of scalar fields, and its use in evolving the Einstein equations is studied. We compare the results of numerical evolutions with and without the use of this horizon boundary condition scheme for spherical black hole spacetimes. With the boundary condition a black hole can be evolved accurately well beyond $t=1000 M$, where $M$ is the black hole mass.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

Singularity Avoidance in Numerical Black Hole Spacetimes

Spacetime singularities in numerical relativity can be avoided by excising a region of the computational domain from inside the apparent horizon. We report on results of such a scheme that is based on using ({\it i}) a horizon locking coordinate which locks the coordinate system to the geometry, and ({\it ii}) a finite differencing scheme which respects the causal structure of the spacetime. With this technique a black hole can be evolved accurately well beyond $t=1000M$, where $M$ is the black hole mass.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

Event Horizons of Numerical Black Holes

We have developed a powerful and efficient method for locating the event horizon of a black hole spacetime, making possible the study of the dynamics of event horizons in numerical relativity. We describe the method and apply it to a colliding black hole spacetime.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

3D Numerical Relativity at NCSA

Numerical relativity is finally coming of age with the development of massively parallel computers. 3D problems, which were completely intractable several years ago due to limited computer power, can now be performed with grid sizes of about $200^3$. We report on several new codes developed for solving the full 3D Einstein equations, and present results of using them to evolve black holes and gravitational waves.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

The Head-On Collision of Two Equal Mass Black Holes: Numerical Methods

The head-on collision of two nonrotating axisymmetric equal mass black holes is treated numerically. We take as initial data the single parameter family of time-symmetric solutions discovered by Misner which consists of two Einstein-Rosen bridges that can be placed arbitrarily distant from one another. A number of problems associated with previous attempts to evolve these data sets have been overcome. In this article, we discuss our choices for coordinate systems, gauges, and the numerical algorithms that we have developed to evolve this system.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1994

Anisotropies of the Cosmic Background Radiation in a Reionized Universe

We trace the evolution of cosmic microwave background photons propagating through a reionized model universe. The reionization of the intergalactic medium is achieved by UV photons emitted from the decaying `hot' dark matter neutrinos. The model universe is represented by a comoving cube through which we propagate photons and subject them to the Sachs-Wolfe effect and Thomson scattering off the ionized fraction of the IGM, beginning at z=1900 until the present z=0. The simulation follows the evolving matter inhomogeneities and microwave background photons into the present nonlinear regime and yields temperature maps of the microwave sky as a comoving observer would detect. Our temperature maps display anisotropies on scales ranging from 2 to 8 degrees with rms amplitudes ranging from DT/T_{rms} =2.8 to 3.4 times 10^{-5} without reionization. If we allow the neutrinos to decay and subsequently reionize the IGM, the level of the temperature anisotropies is reduced to DT/T=0.8 to 1.1 times 10^{-5}. This includes the Doppler shifts suffered by the CMB photons as they scatter off the moving ionized fraction of the IGM. If, however, reionization is caused by a late and sudden energy input into the IGM, we find that some reduction in $ΔT/T$ occurs, but not enough to make this scenario consistent with observations. We find that the decaying neutrino hypothesis is more efficient at reducing primordial anisotropies and generates smaller Doppler anisotropies than a model reionized via a late and sudden energy input into the IGM.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1994

Dynamics of Apparent and Event Horizons

The dynamics of apparent and event horizons of various black hole spacetimes, including those containing distorted, rotating and colliding black holes, are studied. We have developed a powerful and efficient new method for locating the event horizon, making possible the study of both types of horizons in numerical relativity. We show that both the event and apparent horizons, in all dynamical black hole spacetimes studied, oscillate with the quasinormal frequency.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1993

The Collision of Two Black Holes

We study the head-on collision of two equal mass, nonrotating black holes. We consider a range of cases from holes surrounded by a common horizon to holes initially separated by about $20M$, where $M$ is the mass of each hole. We determine the waveforms and energies radiated for both the $\ell = 2$ and $\ell=4$ waves resulting from the collision. In all cases studied the normal modes of the final black hole dominate the spectrum. We also estimate analytically the total gravitational radiation emitted, taking into account the tidal heating of horizons using the membrane paradigm, and other effects. For the first time we are able to compare analytic calculations, black hole perturbation theory, and strong field, nonlinear numerical calculations for this problem, and we find excellent agreement.

gr-qc↗