The numerical relativity breakthrough for binary black holes
arXiv:1411.3997 · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/32/12/124011
Abstract
The evolution of black-hole binaries in vacuum spacetimes constitutes the two-body problem in general relativity. The solution of this problem in the framework of the Einstein field equations is a substantially more complex exercise than that of the dynamics of two point masses in Newtonian gravity, but it also presents us with a wealth of new exciting physics. Numerical methods are likely the only method to compute the dynamics of black-hole systems in the fully non-linear regime and have been pursued since the 1960s, culminating in dramatic breakthroughs in 2005. Here we review the methodology and the developments that finally gave us a solution of this fundamental problem of Einstein's theory and discuss the breakthrough's implication for the wide range of contemporary black-hole physics.
34 pages, 5 figures; Invited article for Classical and Quantum Gravity's "Milestones of General Relativity" series; to match published version
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