PhD Studentship: Physics and Astrophysics of Black Hole Collisions

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.

Environment

The selected student 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.

Further details

The successful applicant would normally start their PhD in September 2025, but the date can be negotiated if needed. More details on postgraduate research at the University of Birmingham and entrance requirements can be found at https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research and http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/phd/index.php. If you require any additional information, do not hesitate to contact Gregorio Carullo by sending an email to g.carullo@bham.ac.uk with the subject “PhD positions inquiry”.

Funding Details

Additional Funding Information

The position is funded for 3.5 years, covering tuition fees, a monthly stipend, and travels to conferences. We welcome applications from worldwide students. Overseas students are also encouraged to apply for external funding, e.g., the Commonwealth scholarships. To apply, follow: https://sits.bham.ac.uk/lpages/EPS005.htm, click on “Apply Now” in front of `Program`:“PhD in Department of Physics and Astronomy” and `Year`:“2025/2026”. You will need to indicate “Gregorio Carullo” as one of your proposed supervisors and provide: an academic transcript, CV, personal statement highlighting your motivation for pursuing this PhD and relevant experience, and up to two letters of recommendation uploaded by the application deadline.

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