E-Book Overview
Calculations of relativistic hydrodynamics are crucial to several areas of current research in the physics of supernovae and stellar collapse. This book provides an overview of the computational framework in which such calculations have been developed, with examples of applications to real physical systems. Beginning with the development of the equations and differencing schemes for special relativistic hydrodynamics, the book stresses the viability of the Euler-Lagrange approach to most astrophysical problems. It details aspects of solving the Einstein equations together with the fluid dynamics for various astrophysical systems in one, two and three dimensions.
E-Book Content
Relativistic Numerical Hydrodynamics This book presents an overview of the computational framework in which calculations of relativistic hydrodynamics have been developed. It summarizes the jargon and methods used in the field, and provides illustrative applications to real physical systems. The authors explain how to break down the complexities of Einstein’s equations and fluid dynamics, stressing the viability of the Euler–Lagrange approach to astrophysical problems. The book contains techniques and algorithms enabling one to build computer simulations of relativistic fluid problems for various astrophysical systems in one, two, and three dimensions. It also shows the reader how to test relativistic hydrodynamics codes. Suitable for use as a textbook for graduate courses on astrophysical hydrodynamics and relativistic astrophysics, this book also provides a valuable reference for researchers already working in the field. j a m e s w i l s o n is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of numerical relativity and hydrodynamics. Most of the techniques currently in active use in the field today were developed by him at one stage or another. He is best known for having first solved the supernova explosion mechanism by delayed neutrino heating, as well as for developing simulations for accreting black holes, black hole and neutron star collisions, supernova jets, and binary neutron stars. In 1994 he was awarded the Marcel Grossman General Relativity Prize for his contributions to the development of the field of numerical relativity. He is also the author of numerous publications in numerical astrophysics. g r a n t m a t h e w s is Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology at Notre Dame University, Indiana. He has been working together with Jim Wilson for the past 15 years on the development of techniques for relativistic hydrodynamics in three spatial dimensions. He has published over 200 papers in areas of theoretical and experimental astrophysics, cosmology, and relativity.
CAMBRIDGE MONOGRAPHS ON MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS General editors: P. V. Landshoff, D. R. Nelson, S. Weinberg J. Ambjo /rn, B. Durhuus and T. Jonsson Quantum Geometry: A Statistical Field Theory Approach A. M. Anile Relativistic Fluids and Magneto-Fluids J. A. de Azc´ arrage and J. M. Izquierdo Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, Cohomology and Some Applications in Physics† O. Babelon, D. Bernard and M. Talon Introduction to Classical Integrable Systems V. Belinkski and E. Verdaguer Gravitational Solitons J. Bernstein Kinetic Theory in the Early Universe G. F. Bertsch and R. A. Broglia Oscillations in Finite Quantum Systems N. D. Birrell and P. C. W. Davies Quantum Fields in Curved Space† M. Burgess Classical Covariant Fields S. Carlip Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions J. C. Collins Renormalization† M. Creutz Quarks, Gluons and Lattices† P. D. D’Eath Supersymmetric Quantum Cosmology F. de Felice and C. J. S Clarke Relativity on Curved Manifolds† P. G. O. Freund Introduction to Supersymmetry† J. Fuchs Affine Lie Algebras and Quantum Groups† J. Fuchs and C. Schweigert Symmetries, Lie Algebras and Representations: A Graduate Course for Physicists† Y. Fujii and K. Maeda The Scalar–Tensor Theory