A numerically accurate investigation of black-hole normal modes

Abstract The oscillations of a Schwarzschild black hole, describing the late time ringing expected after, for example, a gravitational collapse, are discussed in terms of the characteristic normal-mode frequencies. A condition determining these frequencies is derived within the phase-amplitude method. The numerical results obtained using this condition are of very high accuracy, and the phase-amplitude analysis seems to provide a powerful alternative to the previous investigations of the normal-mode problem.