Observations of astrophysical systems where gravity is extreme — highly-dynamical and/or non-linearly strong — have the potential to shed light on some of the most profound questions in physics today: from the nature of compact objects to whether Einstein’s theory accurately describes the merger of black holes. The first space-borne detector, LISA, a joint ESA-NASA mission is currently planned to be deployed in 2034, allowing for the first observation of the merger of supermassive black holes and of extreme mass-ratio inspirals. These observations will enable new accurate tests of general relativity, in particular in the strong regime.
We announce the Fundamental Physics with LISA workshop which will take place on November 12-14, 2018 at the Galileo Galilei Institute (Arcetri, Florence, IT). Its goal will be to discuss ways in which we can test General Relativity and learn about fundamental theoretical physics with future LISA observations.
For more information and registration, please visit the conference webpage: http://www.ggi.infn.it/showevent.pl?id=305
In order to encourage interaction and discussion, the workshop will bring together experts in theory, phenomenology, modeling and data analysis, and will have an unusual format. Each day will be centered around one of these facets, and consist of three topical sessions in which discussions will be moderated by a panel of three or four experts. The goal of the workshop is to foster fruitful interactions between different dimensions of LISA science. This will include the following topics:
* Model independent tests versus Model-Specific tests of GR.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from the inspiral of supermassive black holes.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from the ringdown of supermassive black hole merger.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from extreme mass-ratio inspirals.
* Inferences about the nature of supermassive black holes.
* Tests of superradiance and inferences about ultralight boson fields and fuzzy dark matter.
* Exotic compact objects, tests of the horizon, and GW echoes.
* Environmental effects
The number of participants is limited. The registration deadline is *Sepember 1st* or earlier if the capacity of the conference venue is reached. The conference fee (€60) includes lunch tickets for on-site catering.
## PROGRAM ##
DAY 1: THEORETICAL PHYSICS FOUNDATIONS
1A: Black holes
1B: Cosmology
1C: Gravity
DAY 2: INFERENCES
2A: Inferences on exotic objects
2B: Inferences on particle physics
2C: Inferences on theoretical physics
DAY 3: SYSTEMATICS AND DATA ANALYSIS
3A: Massive black-hole binaries: modeling and systematics
3B: Extreme mass-ratio inspirals: modeling and environmental systematics
3C: Data-analysis tools and strategies
## INVITED PANEL SPEAKERS ##
A. Arvanitaki
S. Babak
E. Berti
D. Blas
R. Brito
A. Buonanno *
C. Burrage
C. Caprini
V. Cardoso
K. Chatziioannou
N. Cornish
J. de Boer
P. Ferreira
J. Gair *
S. Giddings
T. Hinderer
S. Hughes
L. Hui
A. Klein
B. Kocsis
C. Palenzuela
A. Raccannelli
T. Sotiriou
L. Stein *
A. Tolley
M. Trodden
M. Van den Meent
M. Vallisneri
A. Vecchio
F. Vernizzi
F. Vidotto
H. Witek
K. Yagi
A. Zimmerman
(* to be confirmed)
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Organizers:
Enrico Barausse (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris),
Thomas Hertog (KU Leuven),
Philippe Jetzer (University of Zurich),
Paolo Pani (Sapienza University of Rome),
Nicolas Yunes (Montana State University)
Support:
– European Research Council Starting Grant DarkGRA-757480 (“Unveiling the dark universe with gravitational waves”).
– COST Action CA16104 “Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics” (GWverse)
Workshop poster (courtesy of Michele Monasta, http://www.michelemonasta.it):
high-res: https://www.dropbox.com/s/de8lxpokwjom6lp/nov_2018.pdf?dl=0
low-res: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ekdpzg6u87gys7c/poster_low_res.pdf?dl=0