Numerical Relativity Working Group

Einstein's equations of general relativity can, in principle, be solved to predict gravitational waves generated by events involving massive objects, such as the collision of black holes or neutron stars. Graviational Wave Observatories are now being built to try to detect such waves, and so there is great interest in computing the expected wave forms numerically.

The Einstein equations can be written as a hyperbolic system of equations and we are investigating some of the issues involved in solving these equations numerically, in particular by using the CLAWPACK software. _______________________________________________________________

Primary participants:

Derek Bale, Applied Math
James Bardeen, Physics
Luisa Buchman, Astronomy
Randy LeVeque, Applied Math

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Fall Quarter, 1998, we are having regular meetings with Jim Isenberg, visiting Mathematics from the University of Oregon, and other faculty and students in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics with interests in general relativity.

Winter Quarter We meet Thursdays at 12:00 in the AMath Library, GUG 408D.

Spring Quarter Jim Bardeen and Jim Eisenberg are both at ITP in Santa Barbara, so we're not meeting regularly.

Schedule of talks:

1/14/99 Luisa Buchman, report about the Texas Symposium in Paris, where she presented a poster.
1/21/99 Numerical instabilities

Fall quarter:

10/1/98 Jim Bardeen, a new hyperbolic formulation
10/8/98 Jim Isenberg, the initial data problem
10/15/98 Jim Isenberg, the initial data problem continued
10/22/98 Derek Bale, hyperbolic formulations and numerical methods
10/29/98 Derek Bale, hyperbolic formulations and numerical methods
11/5/98 Jim Bardeen, issues in implementing the new formulation
11/12/98 Luisa Buchman, Testing Decoupled Hyperbolic Systems for Einstein's equations in 1D plane wave case
11/19/98 no meeting
11/26/98 Thanksgiving, no meeting
12/3/98 Jim Isenberg, "Studies of Mixmaster Behavior in Inhomogeneous Cosmological Models"

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Some links to more information on numerical relativity: