William E. East, Frans Pretorius, Branson C. Stephens
There is great interest in numerical relativity simulations involving matter
due to the likelihood that binary compact objects (BCOs) involving neutron
stars will be detected by gravitational wave observatories in the coming years,
as well as to the possibility that BCO mergers could explain short-duration
gamma-ray bursts. We present a code designed for simulations of hydrodynamics
coupled to the Einstein field equations targeted toward such applications. This
code has recently been used to study eccentric mergers of black hole-neutron
star binaries. We evolve the fluid conservatively using high-resolution shock
capturing methods, while the field equations are solved in the generalized
harmonic formulation with finite differences. In order to resolve the various
scales that may arise, we use adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) with grid
hierarchies based on truncation error estimates. A noteworthy feature of this
code is the implementation of the flux correction algorithm of Berger and
Colella to ensure that conservation of fluid quantities is respected across AMR
boundaries. We present various tests to compare the performance of different
limiters and flux calculation methods, as well as to demonstrate the utility of
AMR flux corrections.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1112.3094
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