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Relativistic Physics Seminar
Bayesian inference and black-hole recoils in gravitational-wave astronomy: from black-hole formation to cosmology
Bayesian inference and black-hole recoils in gravitational-wave astronomy: from black-hole formation to cosmology
Organizers
Speaker
Juan Calderon-Bustillo
Time
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Venue
A3-2-301
Online
Zoom 928 682 9093
(BIMSA)
Abstract
After 300 detections during their first four observing runs, the gravitational-wave detectors LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA have made the observation of black-hole mergers almost routine. These observations have allowed us not only to start to explore how these objects populate our universe but also gain important insights about black-hole formation, large-scale structure of the Universe and the behavior of gravity in its strongest regime. Black-hole recoil, also known as kick, is a strong-gravity effect by which the remnant of a black-hole merger can aquire speeds up to O(1000)km/s, enough to expel it from almost any host environment therefore greatly impacting hierarchical black-hole formation scenarios. I will present how black-hole recoils can be measured from gravitational-wave data through Bayesian inference techniques, including the first existing measurements. Further, I will show how kick information can be exploited to understand the formation history and environments of black holes, active galactic nuclei and the large-scale structure of the Universe.
Speaker Intro
I am an Assistant Professor (Ramón y Cajal Fellow) at IGFAE and a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Previously, I obtained my PhD in 2015 at the University of the Balearic Islands to then undertake two postdoctoral appointments at Georgia Tech (USA) during 2016-2018 and Monash University (2018-2020). In 2020, I undertook a Research Assistant Professor position at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which I left later in the year to join IGFAE as a "La Caixa" Junior Leader Fellow. Apart from my academic appointments, I was a Senior Data Scientist in Capgemini during 2023-2024 and I briefly collaborated for a few months with F.C. Barcelona during 2023. My research focuses on the study of compact objects like black holes and neutron stars through gravitational waves.