Gravitation physics and relativistic astrophysics

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Theoretical research will be carried out on the properties of objects with strong gravitational fields, such as neutron stars, black holes, and the Universe as a whole, with a particular focus on understanding the gravitational waves that such objects produce, and on developing and extending analytic approximation methods in general relativity to study these objects. The particular objects to be studied include (i) newly born neutron stars in supernovae explosions, (ii) neutron stars and/or black holes spiralling into supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, and (iii) the dynamics of the very early Universe in models motivated by string theory with extra spatial dimensions and membranes. These studies will be useful in teaching us about the physics of relativistic gravitational fields, particularly when combined with future observational data from gravitational wave detectors and other sources.