Events List

DateEvent TypeSpeaker
02/02/2026CCPP Brown BagVarious CCPPers [ + ]
02/02/2026Reseach GroupAndrew MacFadyen [ + ]
02/03/2026Astro SeminarMax Isi [ -- ]

Title: The challenge and promise of LIGO’s heavy black holes
Abstract: The LIGO-Virgo instruments have so far detected ~300 mergers of compact objects, most of them black holes. These detections give us an increasingly detailed view of the distribution of black hole masses and spins, with implications for stellar physics and the dynamics of dense astrophysical environments. While many interesting features have emerged, one of the most puzzling is the existence of merging black holes exceeding 60 solar masses, several of which also appear to spin extremely fast. Such systems are difficult to explain with our current theories of stellar binary evolution and lack a clear formation pathway. They also present a big challenge to our modeling and analysis techniques, since their signals are short and dominated by the least-understood portion of the merger process in general relativity. In this talk, I will outline the challenge and promise of understanding LIGO’s heavy black holes from the point of astrophysics, general relativity and data analysis, which, as LIGO continues to observe, may well be the key to some of the most pressing questions in the field. (2:00 PM - 3:15 PM, 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar)
02/04/2026HEP SeminarJustin Kulp [ + ]
02/05/2026Physics Dept ColloquiumNathaniel Craig [ + ]
02/09/2026Hep-Th Discussion GroupMathew Calkins [ + ]
02/09/2026CCPP Brown BagGlennys Farrar [ + ]
02/09/2026Reseach GroupAndrew MacFadyen [ + ]
02/10/2026Special SeminarShai Chester [ + ]
02/10/2026Astro SeminarNicholas Rui [ + ]
02/11/2026HEP SeminarMarat Freytsis [ + ]
02/11/2026Informal Astro TalkYan-Chuan Cai [ + ]
02/12/2026Oral DefenseMarius Kongsore [ + ]
02/12/2026Physics Dept ColloquiumEmanuel Tutuc [ + ]
02/16/2026Holiday [ + ]
02/18/2026HEP SeminarAlice Garoffolo [ + ]
02/20/2026Astro SeminarKleban [ + ]
02/23/2026Hep-Th Discussion GroupMathew Calkins [ + ]
02/23/2026CCPP Brown BagYifan Wang [ + ]
02/23/2026Reseach GroupAndrew MacFadyen [ + ]
02/25/2026HEP SeminarSahand Seifnashri [ + ]
02/26/2026Physics Dept ColloquiumNatasha Holmes [ + ]