Contact: oahannuksela[AT]cuhk.edu.hkLocation: Hong Kong
A two-year postdoctoral researcher position at the CUHK gravitational-wave group, Hong Kong, is available starting earliest June 2023. Candidates with experience in areas of gravitational-wave physics or gravitational lensing are encouraged to apply.
How to apply?
To apply, please send your CV and statement of purpose to (https://forms.gle/TLwYDjZMZH3u8Ggo8) along with two reference letters. The application deadline is December 15th or until positions are filled.
Project description:
General relativity posits that gravitational waves, like light, can be gravitationally lensed. Recent studies suggest that we could detect gravitational-wave lensing as early as in the coming few years as the current ground-based detectors are upgraded. However, the methods to detect and employ gravitational-wave lensing are entirely different from light lensing. Indeed, we detect waves instead of particles, and the source population is one of merging black holes. For these reasons, the field would pave the way to interesting new applications in a wide range of scientific domains, one of which is combined lensing observations using multiple messenger signals – electromagnetic and gravitational-wave signals [1]. However, to realize these applications in practice, several challenges relating to methodology and science-case development need to be overcome.
The postdoctoral researcher would work on combining gravitational-wave lensing with follow-up electromagnetic lens reconstructions at the border between two fields. The work would be done in collaboration with institutes from the Netherlands and Belgium. Beyond the research work, the position would also involve graduate student supervision.
[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.13811
[2] https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.08732
About the group:
The CUHK GW group researches gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space-time. These waves carry information about some of the most extreme objects in the Universe. Thanks to gravitational-wave detectors’ continued development, the current gravitational-wave detectors now make weekly detections when online. The CUHK group focuses broadly on extracting physics from gravitational-wave detections.
The group is part of the LVK collaboration and is led by Otto Hannuksela and Tjonnie Li. There are currently six graduate students. The group works on topics ranging from numerical simulations of magnetars to gravitational lensing, waveform modeling, tests of general relativity, and pulsar timing array.
For enquiries, please contact Otto Hannuksela (oahannuksela[AT]cuhk.edu.hk) and Tjonnie Li (tjonnie.li[AT]kuleuven.be).