Figure 21

Figure 18: Isodensity contours in the equatorial plane for the merger of a 1.3M ⊙ − 1.3M ⊙ neutron-star binary (left panel) and a 1.35M ⊙ − 1.35 M ⊙ case. Vectors indicate the local velocity field (vx,vy). The image corresponds to the final snapshot of the evolution for the two models. The outcome of the merger for the more massive case is the delayed formation of a black hole, as signalled by the collapse of the lapse function shown in the lower panel of the image. In the less massive case, a long-lived hypermassive neutron star supported by rotation is formed. Simulations performed by [372]. (Used with permission.)