GW161212: The Universe through gravitational waves: December 12 – 15, 2016

The Universe through gravitational waves
December 12-15 2016
Organized by: Luis Álvarez-Gaumé, Vitor Cardoso, and Marilena Loverde

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The recent but historical detection of gravitational waves by LIGO marks the dawn of the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. What were the ingredients and demands for detection? What have we learned, and what can we learn from this and future observations? This workshop will address these issues, by bringing together experts in different fields, from data-analysis to numerical relativity and theorists.

Gravitational-wave science is now a truly interdisciplinary topic. Typical searches for gravitational waves require accurate templates for the signal, which in turn require state-of-the-art numerical and analytical modelling. Understanding how these searches and modelling are done is essential for an understanding of the limits of the searches, and what one can infer from them.

The first direct detection of gravitational waves is also, most likely, the first direct observation of black holes in Nature, as well as a first observation of merging black holes. In addition, it marks the first astronomical measure of the mass and spin of black holes. The number of black hole binaries merging within the range of detectors is tied to the entire history of the universe itself. What have we learned from these first observations and how many sources do we expect for future detectors?

At a fundamental level, gravitational waves carry information about an hitherto unknown territory: strong-field, dynamical gravity. This is a unique opportunity to learn about new physics. What is the evidence for the existence of event horizons and ergoregions? Are there new radiation channels that become important at strong gravitational potentials?

This workshop will be a unique opportunity to discuss these issues in an informal setting, with ample time for discussions with some of the main actors in their fields.

Talk Schedule


Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Registration SCGP Lobby
9:45am Welcome Luis Alvarez-Gaume SCGP 102
10:00am A Geometric Formulation of Signal Analysis Bangalore Sathyaprakash SCGP 102
11:00am Overview of Numerical Relativity Matt Choptuik SCGP 102
12:00pm Lunch SCGP Cafe
2:00pm Analytical Relativity and Gravitational Waves Alessandra Buonanno SCGP 102
3:00pm Super Massive Black Hole Merges in Cosmological Simulations Micheal Tremmel SCGP 102
4:00pm Coffee Break SCGP Lobby
4:30pm Testing General Relativity at the Galactic Center wit Optical Interferometry Idel Waisberg SCGP 102

Time Title Presenter Location
9:00am Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars Kostas Kokkotas SCGP 102
10:00am Coffee Break SCGP Cafe
10:30am Modeling Gravitational Waves from Neutron Star Binaries with Numerical Relativity Sebastiano Bernuzzi SCGP 102
11:30am Lunch SCGP Cafe
1:00pm SCGP Weekly Talk: The New Era of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy Alessandra Buonanno SCGP 102
2:00pm Massive Spin-2’s: A Status Report Rachel Rosen SCGP 102
3:00pm Superradiance; an overview and an effective field theory approach Riccardo Penco SCGP 102
4:00pm Coffe Break SCGP Lobby
4:30pm Gravitational Waves in Modified Gravity Theories Encrio Barausse SCGP 102
5:30pm Round table on modifications and tests of general relativity Leo Stein, Lam Hui, Thomas Sotiriou SCGP 102

Time Title Presenter Location
9:30am Exploring the transition from comparable mass binary black hole binaries to extreme mass-ratio inspirals. Harald Pfeiffer SCGP 102
10:30am Coffee Break SCGP Lobby
11:00am Low Frequency Gravitational Waves from Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals Adrian Ottewill SCGP 102
12:00pm Lunch SCGP Cafe
2:00pm Tests of General Relativity from Compact Coalescences of Binary Black Holes Walter Del Pozzo SCGP 102
3:00pm TBA Richard O’Shaughnessy SCGP 102
4:00pm Coffee Break SCGP Lobby
4:30pm How the green light was given for gravitational wave search Pawel Nurowski SCGP 102
5:30pm Testing the Black Hole Paradigm with Gravitational Waves Paolo Pani, Emanuele Berti SCGP 102
6:45pm Social Dinner SCGP Cafe

Time Title Presenter Location
10:00am Analytic Calculations of Gravitational Wave Signatures During Early Stages of Inspirals Ira Rothstein SCGP 102
11:00am Some Remarks and Perspectives Robert Wald SCGP 102
12:00 Lunch SCGP Cafe