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Main Authors: Rodríguez-Monteverde, Jorge L., Jaraba, Santiago, García-Bellido, Juan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19699
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author Rodríguez-Monteverde, Jorge L.
Jaraba, Santiago
García-Bellido, Juan
author_facet Rodríguez-Monteverde, Jorge L.
Jaraba, Santiago
García-Bellido, Juan
contents Dynamical captures of black holes are unique events that provide an exceptional opportunity to probe the strong-field regime of gravitational physics. In this article, we perform numerical relativity simulations to study the events of dynamical capture of two equal-mass nonspinning black holes. We consider a suite of scenarios within a range of initial linear momenta ($p/M=0.095-0.75$) and incidence angles ($θ=6.36^\circ-2.83^\circ$), and study the emitted Weyl scalar ($Ψ_4$) of each case, as well as the spins and masses of the black holes before and after they merge. We provide a simple analytical model which accurately fits the gravitational-wave emission. We study the dependence of the time interval between the capture and the merger emissions with respect to the incidence angle, which can be well parametrized by a first-order divergent behavior, allowing us to find the angle that separates a scattering event from a dynamical capture. We also find that, in general, the parameters that model the first emission can be well described by linear or exponentially decaying functions in terms of the incidence angle, while others display more complex behaviors that offer valuable insights into the nature of these events.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_19699
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Effects of dynamical capture on two equal-mass nonspinning black holes
Rodríguez-Monteverde, Jorge L.
Jaraba, Santiago
García-Bellido, Juan
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Dynamical captures of black holes are unique events that provide an exceptional opportunity to probe the strong-field regime of gravitational physics. In this article, we perform numerical relativity simulations to study the events of dynamical capture of two equal-mass nonspinning black holes. We consider a suite of scenarios within a range of initial linear momenta ($p/M=0.095-0.75$) and incidence angles ($θ=6.36^\circ-2.83^\circ$), and study the emitted Weyl scalar ($Ψ_4$) of each case, as well as the spins and masses of the black holes before and after they merge. We provide a simple analytical model which accurately fits the gravitational-wave emission. We study the dependence of the time interval between the capture and the merger emissions with respect to the incidence angle, which can be well parametrized by a first-order divergent behavior, allowing us to find the angle that separates a scattering event from a dynamical capture. We also find that, in general, the parameters that model the first emission can be well described by linear or exponentially decaying functions in terms of the incidence angle, while others display more complex behaviors that offer valuable insights into the nature of these events.
title Effects of dynamical capture on two equal-mass nonspinning black holes
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19699