General Relativity
I began my scientific career in 1970, just two years after the term “black hole” was coined. This early entry into the rapidly developing field enabled me to discover what is now termed the Smarr Mass Formula for black holes. I was also the first to determine the intrinsic curvature deformation caused by rotation in black holes. Although the numerical solution of strong-field perturbation theory of spherical and rotating black holes had been well developed, the solution of the Cauchy evolution by computational solution of partial differential equations required a number of Riemannian geometry innovations that my co-workers and I developed. At Harvard, I was able to work with their elementary particle group to compare field theoretic behavior of spin 1 and spin 2 (gravity) for self-attracting solutions, as well as help develop new spacecraft tests for general relativity.
Working under the mentorship of general relativity and quantum gravity pioneer Bryce DeWitt, I helped found the field of numerical relativity by amalgamating techniques from differential geometry, general relativity, numerical analysis, and computer graphics and applying them to the two-body problem in general relativity in the form of the head-on collision of two black holes. This led to the first computation of the gravitational radiation from colliding black holes, which was observed 40 years later in 2015. With my students and colleagues I also computationally investigated black hole dynamics, gravitational collapse, and black hole/gravitational wave interactions.
Gravitational Wave Extraction and Outer Boundary Conditions by Perturbative Matching
Physical Review Letters, 80, 1812 (1998).
Stable characteristic evolution of generic 3-dimensional single-black-hole spacetimes
Physical Review Letters, 80, 3915-3918 (1998).
Boosted three-dimensional black-hole evolutions with singularity excision
Physical Review Letters, 80, 2512-2516 (1998).
When Black Holes Collide
Proceedings of the Sixth Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics, Fields Institute Communications (1997).
Geometry of a Black Hole Collision – Science Magazine
Richard Matzner, Edward Seidel, Stuart L. Shapiro, Larry Smarr, Wai-Mo Suen, Saul Teukolsky, Jeff Winicuor, Science 270, 941. (1995).
The Head-On Collision Of Two Equal Mass Black Holes
Peter Anninos, David Hobill, Edward Seidel, Larry Smarr, and Wai-Mo Suen. Physical Review D15, 52, 2044. (1995).
Dynamics of Apparent and Event Horizons
P. Anninos, D. Bernstein, S. Brandt, J. Libson, Joan Masso, E. Seidel, L. Smarr, W.-M. Suen, and P. Walker. Physical Review Letters, 74, 630. (1995).
Event Horizons Of Numerical Black Holes
Proceedings of the 7th Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity, Ed. R. Ruffini and M. Keiser, World Scientific, Singapore. (1995).
Oscillating Apparent Horizons In Numerically Generated Spacetimes
Peter Anninos, David Bernstein, Steve Brandt, David Hobill, Ed Seidel, Larry Smarr, Australian Journal of Physics, 48, 1027-43 (1995).
Numerically Generated Axisymmetric Black Hole Spacetimes: Numerical Methods and Code Tests
D. Bernstein, D. Hobill, E. Seidel, L. Smarr, and J. Towns, Physical Review D15, 50, 5000, (1994).
Initial Data for the Black Hole plus Brill Wave Spacetime
D. Bernstein, D. Hobill, E. Seidel and L. Smarr. Physical Review D15, 50, 3760, (1994).
Dynamics of Black Hole Apparent Horizons
Peter Anninos, David Bernstein, Steven R. Brandt, David Hobill, Edward Seidel, and Larry Smarr,Physical Review D15, 50, 3801. (1994).
The Collision of Two Black Holes
P. Anninos, D. Hobill, E. Seidel, and L. Smarr, and W.-M. Suen, Physical Review Letters, 71, 2851 (1993).
Numerically Generated Black Hole Spacetimes: Interaction with Gravitational Waves
A. Abrahams, D. Bernstein, D. Hobill, E. Seidel, and L. Smarr, Physical Review D15, 45, 3544, (1992).
Black Hole Spacetimes: Testing Numerical Relativity
In Frontiers in Numerical Relativity, 57-73, 1989, ed. C. Evans, L. Finn, and D. Hobill (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge), with D. Bernstein and D. Hobill. (1989).
Supercomputing And Numerical Relativity: A Look At The Past, Present, and Future
In Frontiers in Numerical Relativity, 1-17, 1989, ed. C. Evans, L. Finn, and D. Hobill (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge), with D. Hobill.
Degenerate Dwarf Binaries as Promising, Detectable Sources of Gravitational Radiation
A recent preliminary design for a space based laser interferometer indicates that sources of this kind, are potentially detectable. We discuss the characteristics likely to be seen in such an antenna from degenerate dwarf binaries, assuming theoretical birth rates.
Numerical Relativistic Gravitational Collapse with Spatial Time Slices
C.R. Evans, L.L. Smarr and J.R. Wilson, in Astrophysical Radiation Hydrodynamics, 481-519, ed. K.-H. Winkler and M. Norman (Reidel: Dordrecht) (1986).
Computational Relativity: Numerical And Algebraic Approaches
In The Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, 163-183, ed. B. Berotti et al. (Reidel: Dordrecht). (1984).
Gravitational waves and red shifts: A space experiment for testing relativistic gravity using multiple time-correlated radio signals
Gen. Rel. and Grav., 15, 129-163, with R. F. C. Vessot, C. A. Lundquist, R. Decker and T. Piran. (1983).
The Contributions of Bryce DeWitt to Classical General Relativity
L. Smarr. Essays on the Quantum Theory of Gravity in Honor of his 60th Birthday, ed. S. Christensen (Adam Hilger, Lmt, Bristol, England) (1984).
Sources Of Gravitational Radiation, Ed.
Edited by L. Smarr (Cambridge University Press) (1979).
Time Functions in Numerical Relativity: I. Marginally Bound Dust Collapse
D. Eardley and L. Smarr, Physical Review D19, 2239-2259 (1979).
Kinematical Conditions in the Construction of Spacetime
L. Smarr and J. W. York, Jr., Physical Review D17, 2529-2551 (1978).
Radiation Gauge in General Relativity
L. Smarr and J. W. York, Jr., Physical Review D17, 1945-1956 (1978).
Our Elastic Spacetime: Black Holes And Gravitational Waves
L. Smarr and W. H. Press American Scientist, 66, 72-79 (1978).
Spacetimes Generated By Computers: Black Holes With Gravitational Radiation
L. Smarr, Ann. N.Y. Acad. of Sciences, 302, 569-604 (1977).
Gravitational radiation from distant encounters and from head-on collisions of black holes: The zero-frequency limit
L. Smarr, Physical Review D15, 2069-2077 (1977).
Are There Geon Analogues in Sourceless Gauge-Field Theories?
S. Coleman and L. Smarr, Comm. Math. Phys., 56, 1-9 (1977).
Collision of Two Black Holes: Theoretical Framework
L. Smarr, A. Cadez, B. DeWitt, and K. Eppley, Physical Review D14, 2443-2452. (1976).
The Structure of General Relativity with a Numerical Illustration: The Collision of Two Black Holes
L. Smarr Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin (1975). Ph.D. Advisor Bryce S. DeWitt (Deceased).
Maximally Slicing a Black Hole
F. Estabrook, H. Wahlquist, S. Christensen, B. DeWitt, L. Smarr and E. Tsiang, Physical Review D7, 2814-2817, (1973).
Surface Geometry Of Charged Rotating Black Holes
L. Smarr, Physical Review D7, 289-295. (1973).
Mass formula for Kerr black holes
L. Smarr, Physical Review Letters, 30, 71-73 (1973).The Pre-History of the Two Black Hole Collision Problem
Invited Talk. History of Numerical Relativity Session. American Physical Society. Columbus, OH. April 15, 2018The First 50 Years of the Two Black Hole Collision Problem: 1935 to 1985
Invited Talk at the UCSB Institute of Theoretical Physics Miniprogram on Colliding Black Holes: Mathematical Issues in Numerical Relativity, Santa Barbara, CA January 10, 2000The Collision of Two Black Holes – NCSA Visualization
NCSA Visualization - Peter Anninos, David Hobill, Edward Seidel, Larry Smarr, Wai-Mo Suen, and Mark Bajuk.Numerical Relativity: Black Hole Spacetimes
L. Smarr, D. Hobill, D. Bernstein, D. Cox, and R. Idaszak, SIGGRAPH Video Review: Visualization State of the Art, 49, (1989).
The Collision of Two Black Holes Presentation
Scanned transparencies from various speaking engagements between 1975-1978
Gravitational Waves Detected 100 Years After Einstein’s Prediction – HPC Wire
Larry Smarr's Ph.D. dissertation presaged the announcement of the first detection of gravitational waves created by a merger of two black holes 1.3 billion light-years away.