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Gravitational Rocket from the Merging Massive Black Hole BinariesCoalescing massive black hole binaries are expected to be among the most fascinating gravitational wave sources, observable by the NASA/ESA LISA detector. Not only will the merger events reveal the rich phenomenology of extremely strong and dynamical gravity deep inside the potential wells at the centers of galaxies (thus providing an excellent testing ground for general relativity), it will also make important contributions to the astrophysics of massive black hole evolutions. Typical black hole mergers involve asymmetric radiation of gravitational waves and lose linear momentum as well as energy and angular momentum. As a result, the merger remnant receives a kick from the GW emission: a gravitational rocket effect. High kick velocities (higher than the escape velocities of the host structure) would have a strong impact on our understanding of how massive black holes have evolved over time and, in particular, on the estimates of the merger rate for LISA. The main difficulties in calculations of the kick velocities has been in the last moments of the merger where the full theory of general relativity must be employed to accurately model the black hole dynamics. I describe a recent calculation of the kick velocities from numerical relativity simulations of the merging black hole binaries.
Document ID
20060013148
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Choi, Dale
(Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Astronomical Society
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: January 8, 2006
End Date: January 12, 2006
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: ATP-02-0043-0056
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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