Real-Time Dynamics of Plasma Balls from Holography.

Plasma balls are droplets of deconfined plasma surrounded by a confining vacuum. We present the first holographic simulation of their real-time evolution via the dynamics of localized, finite-energy black holes in the five-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) soliton background. The dual gauge theory is four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills theory compactified on a circle with supersymmetry-breaking boundary conditions.

Nonspherically Symmetric Collapse in Asymptotically AdS Spacetimes.

We numerically simulate gravitational collapse in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes away from spherical symmetry. Starting from initial data sourced by a massless real scalar field, we solve the Einstein equations with a negative cosmological constant in five spacetime dimensions and obtain a family of nonspherically symmetric solutions, including those that form two distinct black holes on the axis. We find that these configurations collapse faster than spherically symmetric ones of the same mass and radial compactness.

Simulation of black hole collisions in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter spacetimes.

We present results from the evolution of spacetimes that describe the merger of asymptotically global anti-de Sitter black holes in 5D with an SO(3) symmetry. Prompt scalar field collapse provides us with a mechanism for producing distinct trapped regions on the initial slice, associated with black holes initially at rest. We evolve these black holes towards a merger, and follow the subsequent ring down.

All-sky LIGO search for periodic gravitational waves in the early fifth-science-run data.

We report on an all-sky search with the LIGO detectors for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency range 50-1100 Hz and with the frequency's time derivative in the range -5 x 10{-9}-0 Hz s{-1}. Data from the first eight months of the fifth LIGO science run (S5) have been used in this search, which is based on a semicoherent method (PowerFlux) of summing strain power. Observing no evidence of periodic gravitational radiation, we report 95% confidence-level upper limits on radiation emitted by any unknown isolated rotating neutron stars within the search range.

Search for gravitational-wave bursts from soft gamma repeaters.

We present a LIGO search for short-duration gravitational waves (GWs) associated with soft gamma ray repeater (SGR) bursts. This is the first search sensitive to neutron star f modes, usually considered the most efficient GW emitting modes. We find no evidence of GWs associated with any SGR burst in a sample consisting of the 27 Dec.