Theoretical Physics Colloquium: A decade of fundamental physics with gravitational waves

We celebrate a decade of gravitational wave astronomy. One of the most remarkable achievements concerns tests of General Relativity and of the nature of compact objects. Gravitational collapse in Einstein’s theory leads to black holes, leaving behind a geometry with light rings, ergoregions and horizons. These peculiarities are responsible for uniqueness properties and energy extraction mechanisms that turn black holes into ideal laboratories of strong gravity, of particle physics (yes!) and of possible quantum-gravity effects. I will review some of the things we learned during the last ten years.

Biography

Vitor Cardoso is a Bohr Professor and Director of the Center of Gravity at the Niels Bohr Institute, and an IST Distinguished Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico. He pioneered black hole spectroscopy, and constraints on particle physics from supermassive black holes. He is co-author of the books “The Birth of an Idea”, “The eclipse of time” and “Superradiance” and of over 300 scientific papers. His research was recognized by the European Research Council with three prestigious ERC Grants. He is a member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and the 2023 ULisboa Award, the highest honour conferred by the University of Lisbon, for his “extraordinary contributions to theoretical physics and for scientific progress on a global scale.” He was awarded the “Ordem de Sant’Iago da Espada” presidential title, for scientific achievements.