Speaker
Description
Binary black hole encounters are the general-relativisic
generalization of the Newtonian two-body problem, and represent the
majorit of observed gravitational waves (GW). Precise knowledge about
the interaction between two black holes and the emitted GWs are of
high importance for finding and analysing GW signals, as well as to
deepen the understanding of the structure and solutions of Einstein's
equations. Such knowledge is obtained by numerical calculations and
perturbation methods like post-Newtonian and post-Minkowskian
expansions, as well as the gravitational self-force formalism, and the
last years have seen rich new results in the overlap between different
methods. This talk summarizes recent advances in numerical relativity
for binary black holes on eccentric and hyperbolic orbits, and for
high mass-ratio. It then elucidates how numerical relativity and
perturbation methods combine in the quest to understand properties of
general relativity and to support gravitational wave science.