18 research outputs found
Discrete boundary treatment for the shifted wave equation
No full textWe present strongly stable semi-discrete finite difference approximations to the quarter space problem (x > 0, t > 0) for the first order in time, second order in space wave equation with a shift term. We consider space-like (pure outflow) and time-like boundaries, with either second- or fourth-order accuracy. These discrete boundary conditions suggest a general prescription for boundary conditions in finite difference codes approximating first order in time, second order in space hyperbolic problems, such as those that appear in numerical relativity. As an example we construct boundary conditions for the Nagy–Ortiz–Reula formulation of the Einstein equations coupled to a scalar field in spherical symmetry
Detecting ill posed boundary conditions in general relativity
No full textA persistent challenge in numerical relativity is the correct specification of boundary conditions. In this work we consider a many parameter family of symmetric hyperbolic initial-boundary value formulations for the linearized Einstein equations and analyze its well posedness using the Laplace-Fourier technique. By using this technique ill posed modes can be detected and thus a necessary condition for well posedness is provided. We focus on the following types of boundary conditions: i) Boundary conditions that have been shown to preserve the constraints, ii) boundary conditions that result from setting the ingoing constraint characteristic fields to zero and iii) boundary conditions that result from considering the projection of Einstein's equations along the normal to the boundary surface. While we show that in case i) there are no ill posed modes, our analysis reveals that, unless the parameters in the formulation are chosen with care, there exist ill posed constraint violating modes in the remaining cases
Spherical excision for moving black holes and summation by parts for axisymmetric systems
No full textIt is expected that the realization of a convergent and long-term stable numerical code for the simulation of a black hole inspiral collision will depend greatly upon the construction of stable algorithms capable of handling smooth and, most likely, time dependent boundaries. After deriving single grid, energy conserving discretizations for axisymmetric systems containing the axis of symmetry, we present a new excision method for moving black holes using multiple overlapping coordinate patches, such that each boundary is fixed with respect to at least one coordinate system. This multiple coordinate structure eliminates all need for extrapolation, a commonly used procedure for moving boundaries in numerical relativity. We demonstrate this excision method by evolving a massless Klein-Gordon scalar field around a boosted Schwarzschild black hole in axisymmetry. The excision boundary is defined by a spherical coordinate system comoving with the black hole. Our numerical experiments indicate that arbitrarily high boost velocities can be used without observing any sign of instability. <br/
Excising a boosted rotating black hole with overlapping grids
No full textWe use the overlapping grids method to construct a fourth order accurate discretization of a first order reduction of the Klein-Gordon scalar field equation on a boosted spinning black hole blackground in axisymmetry. This method allows us to use a spherical outer boundary and excise the singularity from the domain with a spheroidal inner boundary which is moving with respect to the main grid. We discuss the use of higher order accurate energy conserving schemes to handle the axis of symmetry and compare it with a simpler technique based on regularity conditions. We also compare the single grid long term stability property of this formulation of the wave equation with that of a different first order reduction
Asymptotically null slices in numerical relativity: mathematical analysis and spherical wave equation
No full textWe investigate the use of asymptotically null slices combined with stretching or compactification of the radial coordinate for the numerical simulation of asymptotically flat spacetimes. We consider a 1-parameter family of coordinates characterized by the asymptotic relation r ~ R1-n between the physical radius R and the coordinate radius r, and the asymptotic relation K ~ Rn/2-1 for the extrinsic curvature of the slices. These slices are asymptotically null in the sense that their Lorentz factor relative to stationary observers diverges as ? ~ Rn/2. While 1 < n ? 2 slices intersect {\mathscr I^+}, 0< n\le 1 slices end at i0. We carry out numerical tests with the spherical wave equation on Minkowski and Schwarzschild spacetimes. Simulations using our coordinates with 0 < n ? 2 achieve higher accuracy at a lower computational cost in following outgoing waves to a very large radius than using standard n = 0 slices without compactification. Power-law tails in Schwarzschild are also correctly represented
Constraint-preserving boundary conditions in numerical relativity
No full textThis is the first paper in a series aimed to implement boundary conditions consistent with the constraints’ propagation in 3D unconstrained numerical relativity. Here we consider spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes in vacuum or with a minimally coupled scalar field, within the Einstein-Christoffel (EC) symmetric hyperbolic formulation of Einstein’s equations. By exploiting the characteristic propagation of the main variables and constraints, we are able to single out the only free modes at the outer boundary for these problems. In the vacuum case a single free mode exists which corresponds to a gauge freedom, while in the matter case an extra mode exists which is associated with the scalar field. We make use of the fact that the EC formulation has no superluminal characteristic speeds to excise the singularity. We present a second-order, finite difference discretization to treat these scenarios, where we implement these constraint-preserving boundary conditions, and are able to evolve the system for essentially unlimited times (i.e., limited only by the available computing time). As a test of the robustness of our approach, we allow large pulses of gauge and scalar field to enter the domain through the outer boundary. We reproduce expected results, such as trivial (in the physical sense) evolution in the vacuum case (even in gauge-dynamical simulations), and the tail decay for the scalar field.<br/
Stability properties of a formulation of Einstein's equations
No full textWe study the stability properties of the Kidder-Scheel-Teukolsky (KST) many-parameter formulation of Einstein’s equations for weak gravitational waves on flat space-time from a continuum and numerical point of view. At the continuum, performing a linearized analysis of the equations around flat space-time, it turns out that they have, essentially, no non-principal terms. As a consequence, in the weak field limit the stability properties of this formulation depend only on the level of hyperbolicity of the system. At the discrete level we present some simple one-dimensional simulations using the KST family. The goal is to analyze the type of instabilities that appear as one changes parameter values in the formulation. Lessons learned in this analysis can be applied in other formulations with similar properties.<br/
Well posed constraint-preserving boundary conditions for the linearized Einstein equations
No full textIn this paper we address the problem of specifying boundary conditions for Einstein's equations when linearized around Minkowski space using the generalized Einstein-Christoffel symmetric hyperbolic system of evolution equations. The boundary conditions we work out guarantee that the constraints are satisfied provided they are satisfied on the initial slice and ensures a well posed initial-boundary value formulation. We consider the case of a manifold with a non-smooth boundary, as is the usual case of the cubic boxes commonly used in numerical relativity. The techniques discussed should be applicable to more general cases, as linearizations around more complicated backgrounds, and may be used to establish well posedness in the full non-linear case
Convergence and stability in numerical relativity
No full textIt is often the case in numerical relativity that schemes that are known to be convergent for well posed systems are used in evolutions of weakly hyperbolic (WH) formulations of Einstein's equations. Here we explicitly show that with several of the discretizations that have been used through out the years, this procedure leads to non-convergent schemes. That is, arbitrarily small initial errors are amplified without bound when resolution is increased, independently of the amount of numerical dissipation introduced. The lack of convergence introduced by this instability can be particularly subtle, in the sense that it can be missed by several convergence tests, especially in 3+1 dimensional codes. We propose tests and methods to analyze convergence that may help detect these situations
Hyperbolicity of the BSSN system of Einstein evolution equations
No full textWe discuss an equivalence between the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura (BSSN) formulation of the Einstein evolution equations, a subfamily of the Kidder-Scheel-Teukolsky formulation, and other strongly or symmetric hyperbolic first order systems with fixed shift and densitized lapse. This allows us to show under which conditions the BSSN system is, in a sense to be discussed, hyperbolic. This desirable property may account in part for the empirically observed better behavior of the BSSN formulation in numerical evolutions involving black holes
