A 3+1 Computational Scheme for Dynamic Spherically Symmetric Black Hole Spacetimes -- II: Time Evolution

Abstract

This is the second in a series of papers describing a 3+1 computational scheme for the numerical simulation of dynamic black hole spacetimes. We discuss the numerical time-evolution of a given black-hole-containing initial data slice in spherical symmetry. We avoid singularities via the "black-hole exclusion" or "horizon boundary condition" technique, where the slices meet the black hole's singularity, but on each slice a spatial neighbourhood of the singularity is excluded from the domain of the numerical computations. After first discussing some of the key design choices which arise with the black hole exclusion technique, we then give a detailed description of our numerical evolution scheme for spherically symmetric scalar field evolution, assuming that a black hole is already present on the initial slice. We use a free evolution, with Eddington-Finkelstein-like coordinates and the inner boundary placed at a fixed coordinate radius well inside the horizon. Our numerical scheme is based on the method of lines (MOL), where spacetime PDEs are first finite differenced in space only, yielding a system of coupled ODEs for the time evolution of the field variables along the spatial-grid-point world lines. These ODEs are then time-integrated by standard methods. We use 4th order finite differencing in both space and time, with 5 and/or 6 point spatial molecules (off-centered near the grid boundaries), and a Runge-Kutta time integrator. The spatial grid is smoothly nonuniform, but not adaptive. We present numerical black hole + scalar field evolutions showing that this scheme is stable, can evolve "forever" (we have gone to t > 4000m), and is very accurate. At a resolution Delta_r/r = 3% near the horizon, typical errors in g_ij(K_ij) at t=100m are <= 1e-5(3e-7), and the energy constraint is < 3e-5.