A Numerical Exploration of the Spherically Symmetric SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills Equations

The Einstein-Yang-Mills equations describe how a spacetime can curve when it contains a generalisation of an electromagnetic field known as a Yang-Mills field. This thesis develops an efficient numerical code to solve the equations and finds new self-similar behaviour that occurs as black holes are just on the cusp of forming, contributing to a better understanding of general relativity, Einstein’s theory of gravity.