The Sound of Space-time:
    The Dawn of Gravitational Wave Science

November 26 – December 14, 2018

São Paulo, Brazil

ICTP-SAIFR/IFT-UNESP

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The direct observation of gravitational waves (GWs) by the LIGO scientific collaboration opened the new science of Gravitational Astronomy. Scientists have compared this to Galileo pointing his telescope to the sky, offering instead an ear to the cosmos. After the remarkable landmark of detection, GW science will soon turn into the study of the properties of the sources and address fundamental questions in astrophysics and cosmology. In particular, binary coalescences are posed to become the leading probe to test gravitational dynamics, and the physics of compact objects under unique conditions and GWs propagation can probe the Universe dynamics on cosmological scale.

GW Astronomy has become a truly interdisciplinary subject, and future leaders of this nascent field must not only be able to converse but also work on source understanding, data analysis and astrophysics, to realize the full potential of this new era. Typical searches for gravitational waves require very precise signal templates, which in turn demands state-of-the-art numerical and analytical models, to enable also the most accurate parameter estimation. Moreover, extracting the most information from the waveforms requires very efficient search algorithms for data-analysis, the physical interpretation of results and their consequences in our understanding of astrophysics and fundamental questions being the ultimate goal of the field.

The school intends to offer a unique opportunity to train the new generation of researchers in this incipient field. At the end of the school students should be ready to contribute in all areas of this exciting new era of gravitational astronomy: the first week will develop the theoretical background, the second week more advanced topics are discussed and the third week contemplates astrophysics of sources and possible electromagnetic counterparts. There will be three lectures per day and problem sessions in the afternoon.

There is no registration fee and and limited funds are available for travel and local expenses.

Organizers:

  • Luis Lehner (Perimeter Institute, Canada)
  • Rafael A. Porto (ICTP-SAIFR/IFT-UNESP, Brazil)
  • Riccardo Sturani (IIP-UFRN, Brazil)

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