Special Seminar

Abstract: Since the first direct observation of gravitational waves seven years ago by the LIGO detectors, this new field of astrophysics has provided us with unparalleled insights into the most extreme events in the Universe and has allowed us to test the nature of gravitation itself. And with now nearly 100 individual transient gravitational-wave sources detected, the possibilities for these tests to be applied to an entire population of observations can enable detailed studies into high-precision astrophysics as well as probes of fundamental physics not accessible through other means.

In order to achieve these insights, we require the tools and methods used to analyze the gravitational waves to be powerful, fast and robust enough to handle both the rate at which observations are made as well as being sufficiently trustworthy to not corrupt or bias the delicate measurements. As the gravitational wave observatories are improved over the coming few years, both the rate and fidelity of observations are expected to increase to a point where the current analysis tools will no longer be able to keep up.

In this talk I will be presenting my recent work aiming to prepare these analyses for the observations of the future, and provide examples of what advances in both physics and astrophysics such observations will bring.

Short Bio: Carl got his PhD in Gravitational Wave Astrophysics from the University of Birmingham in 2016 and, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, is now a postdoctoral associate at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. His research interests includes the development of methods for inference of the astrophysical origin of gravitational wave transient signals, using this inference to better understand the behavior of the most extreme astrophysical objects and processes in the Universe and to learn more about the fundamental physics governing the formation and evolution of the populations of black holes and neutron stars we can observe both today and in the future.