Contact: g.carullo[AT]bham.ac.ukLocation: Birmingham, UK
The Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham is inviting applications for PhD positions in gravitational wave physics to work with Dr Gregorio Carullo.
Coalescences of two black holes are the most powerful cosmic events happening throughout the Universe. Their dynamics sources the strongest gravitational fields experimentally accessible, and gives rise to violent space-time deformations known as gravitational waves. The observation of gravitational waves by the large scale LIGO-Virgo interferometers on Earth has opened a golden era of strong-gravity exploration, powering the largest surge ever witnessed in gravity-related research worldwide.
Despite rapid progress, many open questions remain. Our understanding of the general-relativistic two-body problem is far from complete, with many nonlinear effects yet to be grasped. The astrophysical origin of the stellar binary systems giving rise to these black hole pairs, and their surrounding environments, has only started to be characterised. Further, gravitational waves could be the key in resolving long-standing cosmological mysteries such as the nature of dark matter or conflicting measurements of the Universe expansion rate.
The PhD candidate will delve into strong-gravity research, and gain experience into both advanced modelling methods in General Relativity and cutting-edge statistical inference techniques deployed on large supercomputers, applied to gravitational wave signals detected by current earth-based observatories or upcoming space-based missions. Details of the project will be agreed with the candidate depending on their interests and inclinations, but specific examples of challenging problems on which the aforementioned skills could be used include: measuring yet unobserved black holes vibrational spectra, modelling the near-merger two-body dynamics, developing innovative inference techniques targeting highly eccentric binaries, or probing the nature of black hole event horizons.
Experience in General Relativity, Bayesian Inference and Gravitational-wave Physics would be ideal, but motivated students from any physics or astrophysics background are welcome to apply.
The selected students will be part of the large Astrophysics and Space Research (ASR) group located at the heart of the beautiful campus of the University of Birmingham, providing them with a friendly, exciting and diverse research environment. The group has world-leading expertise in gravitational wave physics and astrophysics, with contributions ranging from state-of-the-art data analysis and modelling methodologies to core instrumentation, with a strong involvement in all major collaborations in the gravitational-waves field (LIGO, LISA, IPTA). Beyond gravitational waves, additional expertise of ASR members include theoretical and observational extragalactic astrophysics. For a full list of group members, please see: https://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/whoswho.php. The successful candidates will join a supportive and friendly cohort of 18 PhD students, regularly organising a range of social events throughout the program, with access to a wide selection of University facilities.
We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, and particularly encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy. The School of Physics and Astronomy is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award.
Application guidelines can be found in the link attached. The application deadline is the 19th of January 2025.
Please bring the announcement to the attention of interested candidates and feel free to contact [g.carulloATbham.ac.uk] for any inquiries.