Mining for Observables: A New Challenge in Numerical Relativity

One of the motivations behind numerical relativity is to provide gravitational wave signals of compact objects to observers using the new gravitational wave detectors. Yet, because of the complexities involved, no dependable signals of binary-black hole coalescences have been established. The work in this proceedings is motivated by how numerical relativity can be used today to predict robust features in gravitational wave signals of binary black-hole coalescence by making approximations to the full problem. To illustrate this, we present results from evolving a Klein-Gordon equation on a frozen background. The background is set by a sequence of initial data in which the binary is in quasi-equilibrium. We probe the data resulting from the evolution for the transition between the linear and non-linear regimes using oscillations of the black holes as our guide. This information is used to motivate a qualitative picture of the gravitational signal of a black-hole coalescence.