Seminar by Assoc. Prof. Enrico Barausee

On this monthly seminar Assoc. Prof. Enrico Barausse from SISSA will gave a lecture entitled "Gravitational waves: Where data science meets physics "

Abstract:

Gravitational waves from mergers of compact objects, first predicted

by Einstein and confirmed through direct observation in 2015, have

revolutionized astrophysics. With next-generation detectors coming

online in the next decade, we anticipate observing thousands of such

events, offering unprecedented insights into strong-field gravity,

black hole dynamics, and cosmic structure formation. However,

extracting meaningful physics from this vast dataset poses significant

challenges. The inference problem spans thousands of dimensions,

requiring advanced statistical methods to disentangle overlapping

signals, instrumental noise, and potential deviations from general

relativity.

In this talk, I will explore how simulation-based inference and

machine learning can help tackle these challenges. By leveraging

neural density estimators and normalizing flows, we can enable fast

posterior estimation, account for non-Gaussian noise, and improve our

ability to identify new physics in gravitational wave data. I will

highlight recent applications, including tests of black hole ringdown

physics and hierarchical inference of astrophysical populations,

demonstrating how these approaches will be crucial in the era of

precision gravitational wave astronomy.