Adaptive computation of gravitational waves from black hole interactions

We construct a class of linear partial differential equations describing general perturbations of non-rotating black holes in 3D Cartesian coordinates. In contrast with the usual approach, a single equation treats all radiative l-m modes simultaneously, allowing the study of wave perturbations of black holes with arbitrary 3D structure, as would be present when studying the full set of nonlinear Einstein equations describing a perturbed black hole. This class of equations forms an excellent testbed to explore the computational issues of simulating black spacetimes using a three dimensional adaptive mesh refinement code. Using this code, we present results from the first fully resolved 3D solution of the equations describing perturbed black holes. We discuss both fixed and adaptive mesh refinement, refinement criteria, and the computational savings provided by adaptive techniques in 3D for such model problems of distorted black holes.