Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

这个项目的动机是最有趣的引力波源：一对黑洞的螺旋。两个黑洞最后的相互碰撞，以及最终形成一个黑洞的合并，必须由数值相对论的超级计算机方法来处理，但是这些方法无法处理双星在碰撞/合并之前的时期：黑洞强烈相互作用的许多轨道，但遵循近似圆形的轨道。将使用一种不寻常的近似方案（“周期驻波近似”）和创新的数学/计算方法（“自适应坐标”）来研究二元系的这一时期。近似方法的结果不仅可以让我们了解合并前的天体物理学，而且将通过为数值相对论计算提供最佳可能的起点，为数值相对论工作提供至关重要的支持。此外，这项工作的副产品将是新的近似/计算方法，这些方法可能适用于其他领域。这项工作将在该国服务不足地区的一所非常新的大学进行;该大学的前沿科学研究活动有助于为学生提供榜样，鼓励他们考虑从事科学事业。

This project is motivated by the most interesting source of gravitational waves: the inspiral of a binary pair of black holes. The final plunge of the holes toward each other, and the merger to form one final hole, must be handled by the supercomputer methods of numerical relativity, but those methods cannot handle the epoch of the binary before the plunge/merger: the many orbits in which the black holes strongly interact, but follow nearly circular orbits. This epoch of the binary will be studied using an unusual approximation scheme (the "periodic standing wave approximation") and with innovative mathematical/computational methods ("adapted coordinates").The results of the approximation method will not only let us understand the pre-merger astrophysics, but will give crucial support to the work in numerical relativity by providing the best possible starting point for numerical relativity computations. In addition, spin-offs of the work will be new approximation/computational methods that are likely to find applicability in other fields. This work will be carried out in a very new university in an underserved region of the country; the presence of forefront scientific research activity at the university helps to provide role models for students to encourage them to consider careers in science.