Describing Waveforms from Nonspinning Black Hole Binaries

Following successful simulations of the inspiral and merger of a black hole binary, the parameter space survey of black hole binary simulations is underway. Equal-mass simulations and waveforms have been studied thoroughly. Mergers with various spins on the individual black holes have been simulated. We have simulated the last several orbits of nonspinning mergers with mass ratios up to 1:6. We focus on the waveforms from such mergers, with an emphasis on interpreting the phase evolution by a simple heuristic model.