Evolution of Excised BHBH and BHNS Initial Data: Numerical Methods and Tests

We are now able to perform fully general relativistic simulations of black hole-black hole (BHBH) and black hole-neutron star (BHNS) binaries using conformal thin-sandwich (CTS) initial data and the BSSN-based moving puncture evolution technique. We fill the excised BH regions in the CTS initial data with smooth, constraint-violating ``junk'' data. To test this technique, we apply the junk-filling procedure to excised irrotational CTS BHBH initial data and evolve it. We compare the resulting waveform to that found using {\it puncture} initial data with the same initial orbital frequency and find good agreement. In our most recent work, this junk-filling technique is employed to stably evolve excised CTS BHNS binary initial data through inspiral, merger, and ringdown ($t > 200M$). We present results from our BHNS simulations that validate our numerical technique and briefly outline future plans.