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Superkicks in hyperbolic encounters of binary black holes
James Healy1, Frank Herrmann, Ian Hinder
1Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|March 5, 2009
Summary
Gravitational waves from merging black holes can cause a "kick" to the final black hole. Hyperbolic encounters, unlike quasicircular ones, can produce much larger kicks up to 10,000 km/s.
Area of Science:
- Astrophysics
- Gravitational Wave Astronomy
- General Relativity
Background:
- Binary black hole mergers generate gravitational radiation.
- This radiation can impart a recoil (kick) to the final black hole.
- Previous studies focused on quasicircular inspirals, yielding kicks up to 3300 km/s.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gravitational recoil in hyperbolic encounters of binary black holes.
- To explore kick velocities beyond those observed in quasicircular inspirals.
- To understand the impact of plunge-dominated dynamics on gravitational recoil.
Main Methods:
- Simulating hyperbolic encounters of binary black holes.
- Analyzing the dynamics of highly relativistic scatterings.
- Calculating gravitational recoil velocities based on radiation patterns.
Main Results:
- Hyperbolic encounters lead to plunge-dominated radiation.
- This results in enhanced preferential beaming of gravitational waves.
- Kick velocities up to 10,000 km/s were achieved in these simulations.
Conclusions:
- Hyperbolic encounters offer a new regime for studying extreme black hole kicks.
- These findings have implications for understanding black hole populations and their dynamics.
- The enhanced beaming in hyperbolic encounters significantly increases recoil potential.
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