Reducing orbital eccentricity in binary black hole simulations

Abstract

Binary black hole simulations starting from quasi-circular (i.e., zero radial velocity) initial data have orbits with small but non-zero orbital eccentricities. In this paper the quasi-equilibrium initial-data method is extended to allow non-zero radial velocities to be specified in binary black hole initial data. New low-eccentricity initial data are obtained by adjusting the orbital frequency and radial velocities to minimize the orbital eccentricity, and the resulting ($\sim 5$ orbit) evolutions are compared with those of quasi-circular initial data. Evolutions of the quasi-circular data clearly show eccentric orbits, with eccentricity that decays over time. The precise decay rate depends on the definition of eccentricity; if defined in terms of variations in the orbital frequency, the decay rate agrees well with the prediction of Peters (1964). The gravitational waveforms, which contain $\sim 8$ cycles in the dominant l=m=2 mode, are largely unaffected by the eccentricity of the quasi-circular initial data. The overlap between the dominant mode in the quasi-circular evolution and the same mode in the low-eccentricity evolution is about 0.99.

27 pages, 9 figures; various minor clarifications; accepted to the "New Frontiers" special issue of CQG

References in corpus (34)

• Evolution of Binary Black Hole Spacetimes
• Accurate Evolutions of Orbiting Black-Hole Binaries Without Excision
• Gravitational wave extraction from an inspiraling configuration of merging black holes
• A simple construction of initial data for multiple black holes
• Inspiral, merger and ring-down of equal-mass black-hole binaries
• Numerical Relativity Using a Generalized Harmonic Decomposition
• Calibration of Moving Puncture Simulations
• A New Generalized Harmonic Evolution System
• Conformal ``thin sandwich'' data for the initial-value problem of general relativity
• A multidomain spectral method for solving elliptic equations
• Extrinsic Curvature and the Einstein Constraints
• Solving Einstein's Equations With Dual Coordinate Frames
• Excision boundary conditions for black hole initial data
• Simulation of Binary Black Hole Spacetimes with a Harmonic Evolution Scheme
• Binary black holes in circular orbits. II. Numerical methods and first results
• Modeling gravitational radiation from coalescing binary black holes
• Binary black holes in circular orbits. I. A global spacetime approach
• Three-dimensional initial data for the collision of two black holes II: Quasi-circular orbits for equal-mass black holes
• Circular orbits and spin in black-hole initial data
• The Innermost Stable Circular Orbit of Binary Black Holes
• Corotating and irrotational binary black holes in quasi-circular orbits
• Binary black hole initial data for numerical general relativity based on post-Newtonian data
• Quasi-equilibrium binary black hole sequences for puncture data derived from helical Killing vector conditions
• Binary black hole initial data from matched asymptotic expansions
• The Lazarus Project. II. Spacelike extraction with the quasi-Kinnersley tetrad
• Wave zone extraction of gravitational radiation in three-dimensional numerical relativity
• Improved initial data for black hole binaries by asymptotic matching of post-Newtonian and perturbed black hole solutions
• Towards wave extraction in numerical relativity: the quasi-Kinnersley frame
• Towards a novel wave-extraction method for numerical relativity. I. Foundations and initial-value formulation
• Quasi-equilibrium Binary Black Hole Initial Data for Dynamical Evolutions
• Approximate initial data for binary black holes
• Towards a wave--extraction method for numerical relativity: III. Analytical examples for the Beetle--Burko radiation scalar
• On the Circular Orbit Approximation for Binary Compact Objects In General Relativity
• Binary Black Holes in Quasi-Stationary Circular Orbits

Cited by in corpus (170)

• An improved effective-one-body model of spinning, nonprecessing binary black holes for the era of gravitational-wave astrophysics with advanced detectors
• The Einstein Toolkit: A Community Computational Infrastructure for Relativistic Astrophysics
• Binary neutron-star mergers: a review of Einstein's richest laboratory
• The SXS Collaboration catalog of binary black hole simulations
• A template bank for gravitational waveforms from coalescing binary black holes: non-spinning binaries
• Inspiral, merger and ringdown of unequal mass black hole binaries: a multipolar analysis
• A catalog of 174 binary black-hole simulations for gravitational-wave astronomy
• High-accuracy comparison of numerical relativity simulations with post-Newtonian expansions
• Inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms of spinning, precessing black-hole binaries in the effective-one-body formalism
• Effects of neutron-star dynamic tides on gravitational waveforms within the effective-one-body approach
• High-accuracy waveforms for binary black hole inspiral, merger, and ringdown
• Inspiral-merger-ringdown multipolar waveforms of nonspinning black-hole binaries using the effective-one-body formalism
• Black-hole binaries, gravitational waves, and numerical relativity
• Spectral Methods for Numerical Relativity
• Simulating coalescing compact binaries by a new code SACRA
• Low mass binary neutron star mergers : gravitational waves and neutrino emission
• Fast and accurate prediction of numerical relativity waveforms from binary black hole coalescences using surrogate models
• Binary-black-hole initial data with nearly-extremal spins
• Fully General Relativistic Simulations of Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers
• Gravitational Recoil From Accretion-Aligned Black-Hole Binaries
• Simulations of Binary Black Hole Mergers Using Spectral Methods
• Binary black-hole evolutions of excision and puncture data
• Where post-Newtonian and numerical-relativity waveforms meet
• A waveform model for eccentric binary black hole based on effective-one-body-numerical-relativity (EOBNR) formalism
• A data-analysis driven comparison of analytic and numerical coalescing binary waveforms: nonspinning case
• Evolving black hole-neutron star binaries in general relativity using pseudospectral and finite difference methods
• Black hole-neutron star mergers at realistic mass ratios: Equation of state and spin orientation effects
• Longterm general relativistic simulation of binary neutron stars collapsing to a black hole
• High-accuracy numerical simulation of black-hole binaries: Computation of the gravitational-wave energy flux and comparisons with post-Newtonian approximants
• Extracting equation of state parameters from black hole-neutron star mergers. I. Nonspinning black holes
• High accuracy binary black hole simulations with an extended wave zone
• Reducing phase error in long numerical binary black hole evolutions with sixth order finite differencing
• Faithful Effective-One-Body waveforms of equal-mass coalescing black-hole binaries
• Continuum and Discrete Initial-Boundary-Value Problems and Einstein's Field Equations
• Error-analysis and comparison to analytical models of numerical waveforms produced by the NRAR Collaboration
• Extraction of Gravitational Waves in Numerical Relativity
• Testing gravitational-wave searches with numerical relativity waveforms: Results from the first Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project
• Gravitational-wave phasing for low-eccentricity inspiralling compact binaries to 3PN order
• An eccentric binary black hole inspiral-merger-ringdown gravitational waveform model from numerical relativity and post-Newtonian theory
• Further insight into gravitational recoil
• Black hole-neutron star mergers: effects of the orientation of the black hole spin
• Simulations of non-equal mass black hole binaries with spectral methods
• Comparison of Numerical and Post-Newtonian Waveforms for Generic Precessing Black-Hole Binaries
• Orbital Evolution of Extreme-Mass-Ratio Black-Hole Binaries with Numerical Relativity
• Eccentric binary black-hole mergers: The transition from inspiral to plunge in general relativity
• Binary Neutron Stars with Generic Spin, Eccentricity, Mass ratio, and Compactness - Quasi-equilibrium Sequences and First Evolutions
• Improved methods for simulating nearly extremal binary black holes
• Numerical relativity simulation of GW150914 beyond general relativity
• Gravitational-wave observations of binary black holes: Effect of non-quadrupole modes
• Reducing orbital eccentricity of precessing black-hole binaries
• Reducing eccentricity in black-hole binary evolutions with initial parameters from post-Newtonian inspiral
• Testing outer boundary treatments for the Einstein equations
• Remnant of binary black-hole mergers: New simulations and peak luminosity studies
• Simulating merging binary black holes with nearly extremal spins
• Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers with a Hot Nuclear Equation of State: Outflow and Neutrino-Cooled Disk for a Low-Mass, High-Spin Case
• Initial data for black hole-neutron star binaries: a flexible, high-accuracy spectral method
• The Science of the Einstein Telescope
• Effective-one-body waveforms for precessing coalescing compact binaries with post-newtonian Twist
• Matched Filtering of Numerical Relativity Templates of Spinning Binary Black Holes
• Validating the Effective-One-Body Numerical-Relativity Waveform Models for Spin-aligned Binary Black Holes along Eccentric Orbits
• Filling the holes: Evolving excised binary black hole initial data with puncture techniques
• Intermediate-mass-ratio black hole binaries: intertwining numerical and perturbative techniques
• Modeling gravitational recoil from precessing highly-spinning unequal-mass black-hole binaries
• Numerical relativity confronts compact neutron star binaries: a review and status report
• Modeling the source of GW150914 with targeted numerical-relativity simulations
• Stability of general-relativistic accretion disks
• A new public code for initial data of unequal-mass, spinning compact-object binaries
• The Samurai Project: verifying the consistency of black-hole-binary waveforms for gravitational-wave detection
• High accuracy simulations of black hole binaries:spins anti-aligned with the orbital angular momentum
• Equation of state effects in black hole-neutron star mergers
• Massive disk formation in the tidal disruption of a neutron star by a nearly extremal black hole
• First direct comparison of non-disrupting neutron star-black hole and binary black hole merger simulations
• Measuring orbital eccentricity and periastron advance in quasi-circular black hole simulations
• Spin effects on neutron star fundamental-mode dynamical tides: phenomenology and comparison to numerical simulations
• Numerical simulations of neutron star-black hole binaries in the near-equal-mass regime
• Excision without excision: the relativistic turducken
• Simulations of black-hole binaries with unequal masses or non-precessing spins: accuracy, physical properties, and comparison with post-Newtonian results
• Coalescence of black hole--neutron star binaries
• The Current Status of Binary Black Hole Simulations in Numerical Relativity
• Black hole-neutron star mergers for 10 solar mass black holes
• Periastron advance in spinning black hole binaries: comparing effective-one-body and Numerical Relativity
• Intermediate mass-ratio black hole binaries: Applicability of small mass-ratio perturbation theory
• General relativistic simulations of the quasi-circular inspiral and merger of charged black holes: GW150914 and fundamental physics implications
• Reducing orbital eccentricity in initial data of binary neutron stars
• Conformally curved binary black hole initial data including tidal deformations and outgoing radiation
• Gravitational waveforms from SpEC simulations : neutron star-neutron star and low-mass black hole-neutron star binaries
• Comparing Gravitational Waveform Extrapolation to Cauchy-Characteristic Extraction in Binary Black Hole Simulations
• Second release of the CoRe database of binary neutron star merger waveforms
• Unequal Mass Binary Neutron Star Simulations with Neutrino Transport: Ejecta and Neutrino Emission
• Conformal Thin-Sandwich Solver for Generic Initial Data
• Binary Neutron Stars with Arbitrary Spins in Numerical Relativity
• Dealing with delicate issues in waveforms calculations
• Status of black-hole-binary simulations for gravitational-wave detection
• Status of NINJA: the Numerical INJection Analysis project
• Simulations of inspiraling and merging double neutron stars using the Spectral Einstein Code
• The SXS Collaboration's third catalog of binary black hole simulations
• Black hole merger simulations in wave dark matter environments
• Reducing spurious gravitational radiation in binary-black-hole simulations by using conformally curved initial data
• Comparison of high-accuracy numerical simulations of black-hole binaries with stationary phase post-Newtonian template waveforms for Initial and Advanced LIGO
• Eccentric binary black holes: Comparing numerical relativity and small mass-ratio perturbation theory
• Impact of eccentricity on the gravitational wave searches for binary black holes: High mass case
• Nearly extremal apparent horizons in simulations of merging black holes
• Non-conformally flat initial data for binary compact objects
• Black hole puncture initial data with realistic gravitational wave content
• Improvements to the construction of binary black hole initial data
• Adding eccentricity to quasicircular binary-black-hole waveform models
• Multi-patch methods in general relativistic astrophysics - I. Hydrodynamical flows on fixed backgrounds
• A Rosetta Stone for eccentric gravitational waveform models
• An efficient iterative method to reduce eccentricity in numerical-relativity simulations of compact binary inspiral
• Post-Newtonian Quasicircular Initial Orbits for Numerical Relativity
• Precession-tracking coordinates for simulations of compact-object-binaries
• Relativistic hydrodynamics in the presence of puncture black holes
• Boundary conditions for coupled quasilinear wave equations with application to isolated systems
• The Eccentric Behavior of Inspiraling Compact Binaries
• Initial data for binary neutron stars with adjustable eccentricity
• A post-Newtonian diagnosis of quasiequilibrium configurations of neutron star-neutron star and neutron star-black hole binaries
• Simple procedures to reduce eccentricity of binary black hole simulations
• The initial value problem as it relates to numerical relativity
• Numerical-relativity simulations of the quasi-circular inspiral and merger of non-spinning, charged black holes: methods and comparison with approximate approaches
• Quasiequilibrium states of black hole-neutron star binaries in the moving-puncture framework
• A Simple method to set up low eccentricity initial data for moving puncture simulations
• Initial data for neutron star binaries with arbitrary spins
• Effect of spin on the inspiral of binary neutron stars
• Comparison of binary black hole initial data sets
• Algebraic Classification of Numerical Spacetimes and Black-Hole-Binary Remnants
• General relativistic simulations of collapsing binary neutron star mergers with Monte-Carlo neutrino transport
• Exploring the Outer Limits of Numerical Relativity
• Orbiting binary black hole evolutions with a multipatch high order finite-difference approach
• Targeted numerical simulations of binary black holes for GW170104
• Numerical black hole initial data with low eccentricity based on post-Newtonian orbital parameters
• Eccentric Binary Black Holes with Spin via the Direct Integration of the Post-Newtonian Equations of Motion
• Revisiting Event Horizon Finders
• Stability and chaos of hierarchical three black hole configurations
• Ineffectiveness of Padé resummation techniques in post-Newtonian approximations
• High-accuracy waveforms for black hole-neutron star systems with spinning black holes
• Evolutions of Nearly Maximally Spinning Black Hole Binaries Using the Moving Puncture Approach
• Smooth equations of state for high-accuracy simulations of neutron star binaries
• Accuracy of the Post-Newtonian Approximation for Extreme-Mass Ratio Inspirals from Black-hole Perturbation Approach
• Generic initial data for binary boson stars
• Impact of eccentricity and mean anomaly in numerical relativity mergers
• Boundary conditions for the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of Einstein's field equations
• Hybrid black-hole binary initial data
• Merging black holes with Cauchy-characteristic matching: Computation of late-time tails
• Including realistic tidal deformations in binary black-hole initial data
• A joint approach for reducing eccentricity and spurious gravitational radiation in binary black hole initial data construction
• Evolutions of unequal mass, highly spinning black hole binaries
• Systematic effects from black hole-neutron star waveform model uncertainties on the neutron star equation of state
• Robustness of Binary Black Hole Mergers in the Presence of Spurious Radiation
• Initial data for high-compactness black hole-neutron star binaries
• A Numerical Study of Boson Star Binaries
• Highly accurate simulations of asymmetric black-hole scattering and cross validation of effective-one-body models
• Nature Abhors a Circle
• Note on Accuracy of the Post-Newtonian Approximation for Extreme-Mass Ratio Inspirals: Retrograde Orbits
• Binary Black Hole Waveforms from High-Resolution GR-Athena++ Simulations
• The initial boundary value problem for free-evolution formulations of General Relativity
• Numerical relativity simulations in the era of the Einstein Telescope
• Are different approaches to constructing initial data for binary black hole simulations of the same astrophysical situation equivalent?
• Inferring black-hole orbital dynamics from numerical-relativity gravitational waveforms
• Equilibrium initial data for moving puncture simulations: The stationary 1+log slicing
• Three dimensional distorted black holes: using the Galerkin-Collocation method
• Probing the Binary Black Hole Merger Regime with Scalar Perturbations
• Methods for relativistic self-gravitating fluids: From binary neutron stars to black hole-disks and magnetized rotating neutron stars
• Reducing orbital eccentricity in initial data of black hole--neutron star binaries in the puncture framework
• Inspiraling black-hole binary spacetimes: Challenges in transitioning from analytical to numerical techniques
• Insights into Binary Neutron Star Merger Simulations: A Multi-Code Comparison
• Repeated Bursts: Gravitational Waves from Highly Eccentric Binaries
• Testing black hole metrics with binary black hole inspirals
• Parameter control for binary black hole initial data
• Redshift factor and the small mass-ratio limit in binary black hole simulations
• Gravitational waves from black-hole mergers