Colloquium- Leo Stein

Leo Stein, University of Mississippi

Numerical relativity meets analytical relativity at the precision frontier

Abstract: Merging black hole binaries are the predominant sources for gravitational wave detectors.  The greater sensitivity of future detectors demands longer, more precise waveform models.  These models require numerical relativity, but numerics have their own limitations.  To create complete models we need to combine numerical and analytical calculations into “hybrid” waveforms.  I will give an overview of the state-of-the-art in numerical relativity, and various subtleties that arise at the interface of numerical and analytical relativity.

Bio: Leo Stein is an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Mississippi. He received his BS from Caltech and his PhD from MIT. Stein was the recipient of a 2012 NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship and a 2023 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. His interests lie in black holes, GR theory and observations, dynamical systems, and he can very easily be nerd-sniped by other topics!

October 28, 2026 – The Commons Center @ 1:00 P.M. Room 235/ 237

Host: Stephen Taylor