Design of an expanding cosmological background for the moving punctures approach to numerical relativity

Gravitational waves astronomy is a new field ushered in by the first detection of a par of merging black holes. Numerical relativity is the only tool capable of solving Einstein’s equations for the the dynamics and resulting gravitational waves of that binary black hole system. In this project we will first learn how to use the numerical relativity code at Georgia Tech for black hole systems, then enhance the code with well understood improvements with the goal of improving the waveforms used in the detection. If time permits, we will use these improved waveforms in LIGO/Virgo data analysis. Outgoing