Numerical Relativity and the Binary Black Hole Problem

Miguel Alcubierre
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The field equations of General Relativity describe the geometry of spacetime, that is the gravitational field, in the presence of concentrations of mass and energy.  Even if they are conceptually quite elegant, in practice these equations are extremely complex and difficult to solve.  When one wants to study the gravitational field associated with realistic astrophysical systems that involve strong and dynamic gravitational field becomes necessary to use numerical simulations.  In this talk I will discuss the basic ideas behind numerical relativity, and particularly the history of its application to the problem of the collision of binary black holes and the prediction of their gravitational wave emission.
Biography: Prof. Miguel Alcubierre was born in Mexico City in 1964.  He obtained his Physicist degree from the National University in Mexico (UNAM) in 1988, and a PhD in Physics from the University of Wales in 1994.  He later worked for several years as an adjunct Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany.  Since 2002 he joined the Nuclear Sciences Institute at UNAM where he is now a Full Professor, and since June 2012 its Director.
His research is in the area of numerical relativity, which is concerned with the computational simulation of astrophysical systems using Einstein’s theory of general relativity.  In this area he has concentrated on the study of sources of gravitational waves, and particularly black hole collisions.  He is author of more than 50 publications, as well as a textbook published by Oxford University Press.
He has also a keen interest in the popularization of science, and has written several articles, as well as given over 60 popular science talks.  He recently participated, together with a group of 9 Mexican artists, in a project called “Matters of Gravity”, which consisted of a parabolic flight out of Star City in Moscow, and a subsequent artistic exposition inspired on that experience.