Impact of a Multi-TeraFlop Machine to Gravitational Physics

A multi-TeraFlop/TeraByte machine will enable the application of the Einstein theory of gravity to realistic astrophysical processes. Without the computational power, the complexity of the Einstein theory restricts most studies based on it to the quasi static/linear near-Newtonian regime of the theory. The application of the Einstein theory to realistic astrophysical processes is bound to bring deep and far-reaching scientific discoveries, and produce results that will inspire the general public. It is an essential component in developing the new frontier of gravitational wave astronomy – an exciting new window to observe our universe. The computational requirements of carrying out numerical simulations based on the Einstein theory is discussed with an explicit example, the coalescence of a neutron star binary. This document is prepared for presentation at the National Computational Science Alliance User Advisory Council Meeting at NSF, June 1998, in support of the funding of a NSF TeraFlop computer.