Higher-dimensional numerical relativity: Formulation and code tests

Abstract

We derive a formalism of numerical relativity for higher-dimensional spacetimes and develop numerical codes for simulating a wide variety of five-dimensional (5D) spacetimes for the first time. First, the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formalism is extended for arbitrary spacetime dimensions $D\ensuremath{\ge}4$, and then, the so-called cartoon method, which was originally proposed as a robust method for simulating axisymmetric 4D spacetimes, is described for 5D spacetimes of several types of symmetries. Implementing 5D numerical relativity codes with the cartoon methods, we perform test simulations by evolving a 5D Schwarzschild spacetime and a 5D spacetime composed of a gravitational-wave packet of small amplitude. The numerical simulations are stably performed for a sufficiently long time, as done in the 4D case, and the obtained numerical results agree well with the analytic solutions: The numerical solutions are shown to converge at the correct order. We also confirm that a long-term accurate evolution of the 5D Schwarzschild spacetime is feasible using the so-called puncture approach. In addition, we derive the Landau-Lifshitz pseudotensor in arbitrary dimensions, and show that it gives a robust tool for computing the energy flux of gravitational waves. The formulations and methods developed in this paper provide a powerful tool for studying nonlinear dynamics of higher-dimensional gravity.