Theoretical aspects of modern general relativity
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: School of Mathematics
Abstract
It has recently been discovered that black holes have additional degrees of freedom near their event horizons, called soft hair. The soft hair may provide a resolution to the longstanding information paradox of black holes. This project will elucidate the nature of black hole hair, both for cosmological black holes and asymptotically flat black holes. In the second part of the project we will explore how this hair may be detected via gravitational waves or lensing.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Marika Maxine Taylor (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Aaron Poole (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/N504294/1 | 01/10/2015 | 30/09/2020 | |||
| 1807877 | Studentship | ST/N504294/1 | 01/10/2016 | 31/03/2020 | Aaron Poole |
| Description | The main result of this research was an increased understanding of gravitational waves in spacetimes which possess the mathematical property of having constant, non-zero scalar curvature. Such a description has allowed us to interpret such spacetime quantities in quantum theory using the mathematical techniques of holographic duality. During this award, I was also able to show that no radiation is present in a particular asymptotic class of spacetimes, and such a result was explained physically via geometric considerations. The explicit map between the classical radiation (Bondi-Sachs) and near boundary (Fefferman-Graham) coordinates was mathematically established, providing a framework for all of the results described. These results may play an important experimental role in future gravitational wave astronomy: Effects predicted in this work may become visible with modern increases in the precision of gravitational wave detection, including both ground and space based detectors. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this funding would be strictly of use within academia. A major unanswered question is to investigate the nature of the so-called Bondi mass in spacetimes possessing a cosmological constant. The work undertaken during this award establishes natural and suitable properties that such a mass should possess, although so far no candidate has been able to satisfy all of these properties in the most generic case. Such an undertaking could form a project for postdoctoral researchers in the mathematical and physical sciences, or be the main aim of a future PhD student. |
| Sectors | Other |
| Description | STFC Funded PhD Internship |
| Amount | £3,752 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ST/N504294/1 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | Poster presentation at STAG public lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the 2017 STAG public lecture (delivered by Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell) I presented a poster on my research aimed at the general public. The poster session was attended by many of the 100+ audience members from the talk and I was on hand to answer questions and discuss the research that we perform at the University of Southampton. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop helper for STAG public lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of the annual STAG public lecture, local schools visit the University of Southampton and undertake workshops in topics relating to contemporary physics. This year the workshop was based on the topic of particle physics, with hands-on activities which encouraged the students to learn about the structure of the atom and the properties of subatomic particles such as quarks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.southampton.ac.uk/stag/news/events/2019/11/13-stag-lecture.page |
| Description | Workshop helper for the STAG annual public lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of the annual STAG public lecture (delivered by Nobel Laureate Professor Rayner Weiss) the University ran a workshop on gravitational waves and machine learning for the visiting high schools from around the Hampshire region. I was one of the postgraduate helpers for such an event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |