title: Fast and Accurate Prediction of Numerical Relativity Waveforms from Binary Black Hole Coalescences Using Surrogate Models.
abstract: Simulating a binary black hole coalescence by solving Einstein's equations is computationally expensive, requiring days to months of supercomputing time. Using reduced order modeling techniques, we construct an accurate surrogate model, which is evaluated in a millisecond to a second, for numerical relativity (NR) waveforms from nonspinning binary black hole coalescences with mass ratios in [1, 10] and durations corresponding to about 15 orbits before merger. We assess the model's uncertainty and show that our modeling strategy predicts NR waveforms not used for the surrogate's training with errors nearly as small as the numerical error of the NR code. Our model includes all spherical-harmonic _{-2}Y_{ℓm} waveform modes resolved by the NR code up to ℓ=8. We compare our surrogate model to effective one body waveforms from 50M_{⊙} to 300M_{⊙} for advanced LIGO detectors and find that the surrogate is always more faithful (by at least an order of magnitude in most cases).
authors.affiliation: TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blackman
authors.affiliation: Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Field
authors.affiliation: TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Chad R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Galley
authors.affiliation: TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Béla
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Szilágyi
authors.affiliation: TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Scheel
authors.affiliation: Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Center for Computational Mathematics, San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0424, USA.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tiglio
authors.affiliation: TAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hemberger