Princeton University Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM) Special Colloquium - Starts 12 pm
Computational Challenges in Black Hole Astrophysics
Recent astronomical imaging of a black hole has focused attention on problems related to the production of observable radiation from plasma flow close to a black hole. Here I will describe the most commonly used computational scheme for integration of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models for the plasma, highlighting successes, future directions, and limitations. The limitations motivate the development of a new, parameterized statistical model that can be matched to GRMHD evolution for particular values of the parameters and can be used to easily generate synthetic data for all values of the parameters. This opens the door to novel observational tests of GRMHD models. Our statistical model is expected to find applications in simulating turbulent flows near black holes and elsewhere in astrophysics.