How to merge two black holes in a simple way September 26, 2016 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The merger of two black holes, where one is so large that only a portion of it –nearly flat– is shown, while the other, smaller black hole falls into and is absorbed by the larger one. Credit: Roberto Emparan & Marina Martínez The merger of two black holes, such as the one which produced the gravitational waves discovered by the LIGO Observatory, is considered an extremely complex process that can only be simulated by the world's most powerful supercomputers. However, two theoretical physicists from the University of Barcelona (Spain) have demonstrated that what occurs on the space-time boundary of the two merging objects can be explained using simple equations, at least when a giant black hole collides with a tiny black hole. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-09-merge-black-holes-simple.html#jCp
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/1...5D4FC887A0F899373A5.c1.iopscience.cld.iop.org Exact event horizon of a black hole merger Abstract We argue that the event horizon of a binary black hole merger, in the extreme-mass-ratio limit where one of the black holes is much smaller than the other, can be described in an exact analytic way. This is done by tracing in the Schwarzschild geometry a congruence of null geodesics that approaches a null plane at infinity. Its form can be given explicitly in terms of elliptic functions, and we use it to analyze and illustrate the time-evolution of the horizon along the merger. We identify features such as the line of caustics at which light rays enter the horizon, and the critical point at which the horizons touch. We also compute several quantities that characterize these aspects of the merger.
