Simulations of binary black hole mergers using spectral methods

Several improvements in numerical methods and gauge choice are presented that make it possible now to perform simulations of the merger and ringdown phases of generic binary black hole evolutions using the pseudospectral evolution code SpEC. These improvements include the use of a new damped-wave gauge condition, a new grid structure with appropriate filtering that improves stability, and better adaptivity in conforming the grid structures to the shapes and sizes of the black holes. Simulations illustrating the success of these new methods are presented for a variety of binary black hole systems. These include fairly generic systems with unequal masses (up to 2:1 mass ratios), and spins (with magnitudes up to 0.4M(2)) pointing in various directions.