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- 1 participants
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 International Workshop Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications (2nd announc.)
1.2 The Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (5th circ.)
1.3 Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology
1.4 The Time Machine Factory (2nd announcement)
1.5 Rattle and Shine: Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Studies of Compact Binary Mergers, KITP, Santa Barbara
1.6 15th Capra Meeting in Maryland (2nd circ.)
1.7 Yukawa International Seminar 2013 "Gravitatinal waves: Revolution in astronomy and astrophysics"
1.8 2nd BNU International Summer School on Quantum Gravity, Beijing (China)
2. Jobs
2.1 PhD position in Analytical and Numerical Methods in General Relativity at the AEI
2.2 PhD Position in Quantum Gravity at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2.3 Tenure Track Position in Quantum Gravity at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
3. News
3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors"
3.2 "Quantum Gravity" by C. Kiefer (third edition)
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 International Workshop Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications (2nd announc.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/30/international-workshop-relativistic…
Starting Wed, Sep 19, 2012 to Fri, Sep 21, 2012
Location: Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia
Additional Information: http://rgnss.fmf.uni-lj.si/workshop
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to register for the three-day international workshop on "Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications" to be held at Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia, on 19-21 September 2012. The workshop is organized by the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Ljubljana and ESA Advanced Concepts Team.
The goal of the workshop is to bring together those interested in the development of Relativistic Positioning Systems and, in particular, to share ideas and establish future lines of research and collaborations. Topics of the workshop include:
* Formulation of relativistic positioning systems and properties of emission coordinates
* Application to GNSS, relativistic reference frames, pulsar-based navigation and localization
* Inter-satellite links and autonomous GNSS
* Relativistic celestial mechanics (coordinate systems, Hamiltonian techniques...)
* Application to Earth sciences, astronomy and metrology
Also other contributions in line with the aims of the workshop will be considered.
Registration is open at http://rgnss.fmf.uni-lj.si/workshop and will close on 1st July 2012.
There is no registration fee. The proceedings of the workshop will be published.
Best regards,
SOC
e-mail: rps-soc[AT]esa.int
phone: +386 1 4766 505
Confirmed invited speakers:
Bartolome Coll (Universitat de València)
Angelo Tartaglia (Politecnico di Torino)
Francisco Amarillo Fernandez (ESA)
Andrej Čadež (Univ. of Ljubljana)
Scientific organizing committee:
Bertram Arbesser-Rastburg (ESA)
Sante Carloni (ESA)
Pacôme Delva (Obs. Paris)
Clovis Jacinto de Matos (ESA)
Rune Floberghagen (ESA)
Uroš Kostić (Univ. of Ljubljana)
Leopold Summerer (ESA)
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1.2 The Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (5th circ.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/30/the-thirteenth-marcel-grossmann-mee…
Starting Sun, Jul 01, 2012 to Sat, Jul 07, 2012
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Additional Information: http://www.icra.it/MG/mg13/
The meeting website has recently added information about public talks, accompanying person activities, the Tuesday evening reception at City Hall where the Nobel Prize ceremonies are held, and the Wednesday evening banquet location. The plenary program is being updated daily as the speakers submit their abstracts.
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1.3 Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology
---------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/30/black-holes-gravitational-waves-and…
Starting Wed, May 16, 2012 to Sat, May 19, 2012
Location: Rome/Pescara, Italy
Additional Information: http://www.icra.it/ICRA_Networkshops/rjr_70/
This is a meeting in celebration of the 70th birthday of Remo Ruffini on the 40th anniversary of the book "Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Cosmology" by Martin Rees, Remo Ruffini and John Archibald Wheeler.
Many of us began our research as students working with Remo, who has had an important influence on the direction of our careers. We members of the organizing committee especially look forward to this occasion to meet again with the many friends our association with Remo has led to over the years.
More details will follow at the conference website: http://www.icra.it/ICRA_Networkshops/rjr_70/ but it would be most useful if you could email Federica Di Berardino at secretariat[AT]icranet.org with some indication if it will be possible for you to participate in this event.
We send you our best wishes,
Volodia Belinski, Carlo Luciano Bianco, Pascal Chardonnet, Thibault Damour, Nathalie Deruelle, Jaan Einasto, Robert Jantzen, Mario Novello, Jorge Rueda, SheSheng Xue, Gregory Vereshchagin
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1.4 The Time Machine Factory (2nd announcement)
-----------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/30/the-time-machine-factory-second-ann…
Starting Sun, Oct 14, 2012 to Fri, Oct 19, 2012
Location: Turin, Italy
Additional Information: http://timemachine.polito.it
This is the second announcement of the conference “The Time Machine Factory”, that will be held in Torino (Italy), from October 14 to 19, 2012, and is organized by INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico of Torino, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica and Politecnico di Torino. Important information for registration can be found below.
On behalf of the SOC, SOC Chairs,
Mariateresa Crosta
Marco Gramegna
Matteo Luca Ruggiero
SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE
The conference focuses on causality and nonlocality in physics, with emphasis on its implications with time machines. In particular these issues will be dealt with from the viewpoints of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The topological nature of spacetime in the framework of Quantum Mechanics suggests that both causality and locality need to be analyzed at a fundamental level, also by allowing the existence of entities that are more elementary than the spatial dimensions of everyday’s life. The interplay of these entities influences the very nature of time, and their dynamics could lead to understand the emergence of the arrow of time. Focusing on these issues would help to understand the ultimate nature of time, its role in fundamental physics and in the formation of the Universe, thus allowing for a better comprehension of its large scale structure, with apparent implications on the astronomical reference systems.
INFORMATION
Information about the conference, such as scientific program, venue, travel, accommodation, events and social activities, important deadlines and so on, are available at the web page
http://timemachine.polito.it
REGISTRATION
*Participants
Early registration, from April 15 to June 1, 250 euro
Regular Registration, from June 2 to September 1, 350 euro
Registration fee includes registration kits, coffee breaks and conference dinner, as well as access to all satellite events.
Participants wishing to submit a contribution should register no later than June 1.
*Accompanying persons
Early registration, from April 15 to June 1, 100 euro;
Regular registration, from June 2 to September 1, 150 euro
This fee includes only visitor registration kits, conference dinner, and access to all satellite events.
More information at the webpage http://tinyurl.com/TM2012reg
SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Mariateresa Crosta (chair, INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (co-chair, INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (co-chair, Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Orfeu Bertolami (Dep. Physics and Astronomy – Univ. Porto); Donato Bini (Ist. M. Picone – CNR, ICRA, INFN); Salvatore Capozziello (Dep. Phys. Sciences – Univ. Napoli, INFN); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics – Univ. Torino); Fernando de Felice (Dep. Physics – Univ. Padova); Marco Genovese (INRIM); Robert T. Janzen (Villanova University, ICRA); Christophe Leponcin-Lafitte (SYRTE, Obs. de Paris); Oldrich Semerak (Inst. Th. Physics – Charles University, Prague), Angelo Tartaglia (DISAT – Politecnico di Torino, INFN).
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Monica Capone (Dep. Mathematics – Univ. Torino, INFN); Tullia Carriero (INAF,OATo); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics – Univ. Torino); Mariateresa Crosta (INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (DISAT – Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Willy Merz (Fondazione Merz); Enzo Obiso (PHOS).
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1.5 Rattle and Shine: Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Studies of Compact Binary Mergers, KITP, Santa Barbara
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/20/rattle-and-shine-gravitational-wave…
Starting Mon, Jul 30, 2012 to Fri, Aug 03, 2012
Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Additional Information: http://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/dbdetails?acro=chirps-c12
The direct detection of gravitational waves will be a transformative event in 21st century astronomy. Construction of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (aLIGO) and Virgo are well underway; aLIGO is expected to be complete in 2014. After a commissioning period to reach design sensitivity, the first detection of gravitational waves is virtually assured. Despite a great deal of progress in the field, many open problems remain in the field of binary neutron stars (BNS), binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron star--black hole (NSBH) binaries. These coalescing compact objects are of fundamental interest to physicists and astronomers. Gravitational waves from binary black holes will allow us to test general relativity in the strong-field regime. Binaries containing neutron stars will probe the equation of state of nuclear matter. Observed coalescence rates will shed light on the processes driving stellar evolution. The combined observation of gravit
ational and electromagnetic waves from a source will open a new window on physics and astronomy.
All of these goals require a detailed understanding of both the gravitational waveforms emitted and their electromagnetic counterparts. A combined observing campaign uniting electromagnetic and gravitational-wave astronomers with astrophysicists, source modelers, and nuclear physicists will be essential to realize the promise of the gravitational-wave sky. To this end, the KITP conference "Rattle and Shine" will address the following points:
1. Detection. The waveforms for binary neutron star mergers are well understood, but systems with significant spin (NSBH and BBH) remain an unsolved problem. How do we best combine the efforts of the source modeling and gravitational-wave astronomy communities to search for these systems? Similarly, the wide range of potential electromagnetic outcomes (from gamma-rays to radio waves) remains largely unexplored. What are the predictions for the disk and remnant object when BNS or NSBH systems merge? What electromagnetic counterparts will be produced? What is the best strategy for coordinating joint gravitational-wave and electromagnetic searches and detections?
2. Measurement. With the detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic counterparts, how do we measure the astrophysical quantities (mass, spin, luminosity distance, etc.) of compact binary coalescence? How accurately (and quickly) do we need to be able to locate compact binary sources to be able to do interesting astronomy and astrophysics? How accurately can we predict nucleosynthetic yields from BNS mergers and use these mergers to probe nuclear physics? Could we distinguish a BNS merger from a NSBH merger based only on SGRB observations, and thus provide an independent mass constraint for GW observations? What is the emission of an off-axis BNS or NSBH merger?
3. Interpretation. Having detected and measured the parameters of coalescing compact binaries, what can be learned about the distribution and evolution of the sources? About the nature of general relativity? About the processes driving the emission of gravitational waves? About cosmological parameters? The program will lay the foundation for joint gravitational wave and electromagnetic observatories to be used as laboratories for fundamental physics and astronomy.
The conference will bring together several different communities, and so we will ask the invited speakers to give a survey of the state of the field for a broad audience, as well as talks on the latest developments and directions for future research. We intend to have plenty of time for discussion following the talks and the session chairs welcome input from participants for talking points during the discussion. If you would like to raise any issues, please contact the chair of the session. The conference program is designed to allow for lots of interaction between the speakers and the participants.
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1.6 15th Capra Meeting in Maryland (2nd circ.)
----------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/16/15th-capra-meeting-in-maryland-2nd-…
Starting Mon, Jun 11, 2012 to Fri, Jun 15, 2012
Location: College Park, MD, USA
Additional Information: http://www.cscamm.umd.edu/programs/capra12/
This is the second announcement of the 2012 Capra Meeting on Radiation Reaction, which will be held in the Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling (CSCAMM) at the University of Maryland, College Park, from June 11 to June 15, 2012.
Following the Capra tradition, the meeting will focus primarily on aspects of the self-force in general relativity, although broader topics related to gravitational-wave physics will also be discussed.
A block of hotel rooms at a reduced rate has been booked for participants. More information and a registration form can be found on the conference website: http://www.cscamm.umd.edu/programs/capra12/
For full consideration, applications to participate and/or abstracts must be submitted by May 1, 2012.
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1.7 Yukawa International Seminar 2013 "Gravitatinal waves: Revolution in astronomy and astrophysics"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/12/yukawa-international-seminar-2013-g…
Starting Sun, Jun 02, 2013 to Fri, Jun 07, 2013
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Additional Information: http://www2.yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~ykis2013/conference/index.html
We are pleased to announce that Yukawa International Seminar 2013 (YKIS2013) entitled "Gravitational waves: Revolution in astronomy and astrophysics" will be held from June 2-7 in 2013 at Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University. Associated with this conference, we plan to hold a one-month workshop on gravitational waves and numerical relativity. The details will be updated in
http://www2.yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~ykis2013/conference/index.html
The confirmed invited speakers on YKIS2013 at present include
Edo Berger (Harvard)
Emanuele Berti (Mississippi)
Patrick Brady (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Bernd Bruegmann (Jena)
Alessandra Buonanno (Maryland)
John Friedman (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Kostas Kokkotas (Tuebingen)
Luis Lehner (Perimeter)
Christian Ott (Caltech)
Tsvi Piran (Hebrew)
B. S. Sathyaprakash (Cardiff)
Bernard Schutz (Albert-Einstein Institute)
Patrick Sutton (Cardiff)
and more
SOC of the YKIS2013:
Masaru Shibata (chair), Misao Sasaki, Takahiro Tanaka (YITP)
Masaki Ando, Takashi Nakamura, Naoki Seto (Kyoto)
Takaaki Kajita, Kazuaki Kuroda, Seiji Kawamura, Masatate Ohashi (ICRR)
Nobuyuki Kanda (Osaka CU), Hideyuki Tagoshi (Osaka)
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1.8 2nd BNU International Summer School on Quantum Gravity, Beijing (China)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/10/2nd-bnu-international-summer-school…
Starting Sun, Aug 12, 2012 to Sat, Aug 18, 2012
Location: Beijing, China
Additional Information: http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/summerschool/
The Beijing Normal University (BNU) International Summer School on Quantum Gravity is intended to provide a pedagogical introduction for graduate students and young post-docs to the main fields closely related to loop quantum gravity.
Topics include: Loop quantum gravity, Loop quantum cosmology, Spin foams, Group field theory, Regge calculus
Lecturers:
- Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State Univ, USA)
- Benjamin Bahr (Cambridge Univ, UK)
- John Barrett (Univ of Nottingham, UK)
- Jonathan Engle (Florida Atlantic Univ, USA)
- Thomas Krajewski (Univ of Provence and CPT Marseille, France)
- Jerzy Lewandowski (Univ of Warsaw, Poland)
- Etera Livine (ENS de Lyon, France)
The working language is English. But participation is limited. Students and young post-docs who are interested to attend the school are invited to look up the registration information and register at the website:
http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/summerschool/
The deadline for online application is May 31, 2012.
Organization Committee:
ASHTEKAR Abhay (Penn State)
BANERJEE Kinjal (BNU)
DING You (BJTU)
GAO Sijie (BNU)
HUANG Chaoguang (IHEP, CAS)
LEWANDOWSKI Jerzy (Warsaw)
LIU Wenbiao (BNU)
LU Hong (BNU)
MA Yongge (BNU)
ZHOU Bin (BNU)
Secretaries:
GUO Haibiao (BNU)
HAN Yu (BNU)
WANG Jingbo (BNU)
ZHOU Zhenhua (BNU)
Contact: QGschool[AT]bnu.edu.cn
Yongge Ma
On behalf of the Organization Committee
Dept of Physics
Beijing Normal University
Beijing 100875, CHINA
Tel: +86-10-58809499
Fax: +86-10-62209742
Webpage: http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/application/research/gravity/LQG/eng/research.html
Travel support for U.S. Students and Post-docs to attend the 2nd BNU School on Quantum Gravity
The 2nd Beijing Normal University School on quantum gravity will take place from August 13th to August 18th, 2012. Although the hosts of the school will be able to partially cover local costs of attendees, they will not be able to cover all costs. Because of this, we have applied for, and will likely receive, NSF funds to provide partial travel support to a number of U.S. students and beginning post-docs to attend this school. We expect to be able to cover at least half the plane fare of the selected applicants.
Interested young researchers should send a CV, list of publications and, if a student, a recommendation letter from your advisor, to jonathan.engle[AT]fau.edu, no later than Friday, May 18th, 2012. In the email, please also indicate whether you have access to other funding sources, and, if so, which ones. The final selection will be made by a committee consisting of scientists from three different universities.
The organizers of the BNU school have graciously agreed to accept the selected participants. Nevertheless, it is still necessary for students to register and request partial support for local costs directly at the main school website http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/summerschool, in addition to applying for this NSF support.
=================================================================
2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 PhD position in Analytical and Numerical Methods in General Relativity at the AEI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/26/phd-position-in-analytical-and-nume…
Institution: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline: Fri, Jun 01, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.aei.mpg.de/english/imprs/imprsI1/application/index.html
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) invites applications for a DFG-funded PhD position in the division of Geometric Analysis and Gravitation. The position will be part of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS).
The successful candidate will work with Dr. Oliver Rinne on a combination of analytical and numerical methods applied to partial differential equations arising in general relativity and related branches of applied mathematics and theoretical physics. Topics include but are not limited to: global methods for the Einstein equations, gravitational collapse, critical phenomena, black hole stability, and Ricci flow.
Applicants should hold or be about to complete a degree in mathematics, physics or a closely related discipline. Some previous exposure to or keen interest in relativity as well as numerical work is desirable. The starting date of the position is flexible and could be as early as the autumn of 2012. Funding is for three years and is according to the German federal employee scale TVoeD E13 (75%). Details of the application procedure and an online application form can be found at http://www.aei.mpg.de/english/imprs/imprsI1/application/index.html
Evaluation of applications will begin on 1 June 2012 and will continue until the position is filled.
The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of recruiting and employment. For questions about the position please contact oliver.rinne[AT]aei.mpg.de.
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2.2 PhD Position in Quantum Gravity at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/10/phd-position-in-quantum-gravity-at-…
Institution: Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Deadline: Wed, May 16, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~loll0101
One or more PhD positions in quantum gravity will become available in the autumn of 2012 in the new research group headed by Prof. Renate Loll at the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP) of the Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The successful applicants will work under the supervision of Loll in a group consisting of several postdocs and PhD students, an assistant professor (to be appointed) and international visitors. This activity forms part of a new research focus on "Quantum Gravity" at the IMAPP, aimed at uncovering the fundamental quantum dynamics of space and time, and their interaction with matter. The IMAPP provides an attractive working environment for foundational, front-line research. Besides Theoretical High-Energy Physics, of which the new group forms a part, Mathematical Physics, Astrophysics and Experimental High-Energy Physics are all strongly represented.
Applicants must have a university degree in (theoretical) physics at masters level or equivalent and proven abilities in theoretical physics and mathematics. Prior to applying, candidates should inform themselves about the research done in Loll's group by consulting her webpage (see URL) and the publications of group members. The PhD positions are for four years, which is the expected time for obtaining a doctoral degree in the Netherlands, and are subject to a review after one year. Applications should be sent electronically as a single pdf-file to R. Loll at the contact email address given and consist of a cover letter, CV, transcripts of university grades and degrees, a statement of research interests and reasons for undertaking doctoral research in quantum gravity, as well as the names of at least two senior scientists who are in a position to judge the applicant's suitability for a PhD in theoretical physics.
Review of applications will start on May 16 and will continue until the positions are filled.
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2.3 Tenure Track Position in Quantum Gravity at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/10/tenure-track-position-in-quantum-gr…
Institution: Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Additional Information: http://www.ru.nl/vacatures/details/details_vacature_0?recid=508697
As part of a new initiative of the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics (IMAPP) and the Department of Theoretical High-Energy Physics in particular, we are looking for an Assistant Professor in Quantum Gravity (Tenure Track). This position will further strengthen the new research focus on Quantum Gravity, which was initiated with the recent hiring of Prof. Renate Loll, who will be joining the Institute with her working group. Aim of the research is to uncover the fundamental quantum dynamics of space and time, and their interaction with matter. The new initiative is embedded in the nationally defined focus area “Quantum Universe” of the Dutch Sector Plan “Physics and Chemistry”.
Applicants must be experts in quantum gravity and theoretical high-energy physics with a substantial international track record of research in this area, and willing to play an active role in building up the new research focus “Quantum Gravity”. The IMAPP provides an attractive working environment for foundational, front-line research, ranging from pure math to collider physics, with the ultimate aim of understanding the origin and structure of our universe. The set-up of the Institute facilitates interactions across traditional boundaries between the disciplines represented in it, and the incoming assistant professor is expected to strengthen ties with existing related lines of research.
Please see URL for more information and how to apply.
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3. News
=================================================================
3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/26/living-reviews-in-relativity-quantu…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-5
Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors" by Stefan L. Danilishin and Farid Ya. Khalili on April 26, 2012.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2012-5
Danilishin, Stefan and Khalili, Farid Ya.
"Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors"
ACCEPTED: 2012-03-02
PUBLISHED: 2012-04-26
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-5
ABSTRACT:
The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave (GW) detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the scientific community to the point, when quantum behaviour of such immense measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The time, when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of light is round the corner, and finding the ways how to make it lower will become a necessity. Therefore the primary goal we pursued in this review was to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational wave interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity. We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of quantum
noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention is paid to the concept of Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its surmounting.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.2 "Quantum Gravity" by C. Kiefer (third edition)
--------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/04/17/c-kiefer-quantum-gravity-third-edit…
Additional Information: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199585205.do
Claus Kiefer: "Quantum Gravity" (Third Edition)
International Series of Monographs on Physics 155, 408 pages
Oxford University Press 2012
Table of Contents:
1: Why quantum gravity?
2: Covariant approaches to quantum gravity
3: Parametrized and relational systems
4: Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity
5: Quantum geometrodynamics
6: Quantum gravity with connections and loops
7: Quantization of black holes
8: Quantum cosmology
9: String theory
10: Phenomenology, decoherence, and the arrow of time
For more information, see: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199585205.do
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1. Conferences
1.1 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (4th circ.)
1.2 2012 Conference on Computational Physics (CCP2012), Kobe (Japan)
1.3 Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal ERE2012 (2nd circ.)
1.4 First VESF School on Advanced Detectors of Gravitational Waves, Cascina, (Italy)
1.5 CoQuS Summer School 2012 "Quantum Physics meets Gravity", Vienna, Austria
1.6 BritGrav 12 in Southampton, UK (2nd circular)
1.7 Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications, Brdo (Slovenia)
1.8 Xth School of Cosmology in Cargese: Gravitational Lenses
2. Jobs
2.1 Lectureship position in Mathematics at University of York, UK
2.2 Copernicus Center Scholarship for PhD Researchers, Krakow, Poland
2.3 Copernicus Center Scholarship for Postdoctoral Researchers, Krakow, Poland
2.4 Postdoc in quantum theory at Imperial College
2.5 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology at Cambridge, UK
2.6 1-yr postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational physics at Bishop's University
3. News
3.1 New Book: 'Relativistic Cosmology' by G. Ellis, R. Maartens and M. MacCallum
3.2 From Black Clouds to Black Holes by J V Narlikar (3rd edition)
3.3 Highlights and Conclusions of the Chalonge 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011
3.4 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Gravitational-Wave Data Analysis" (major update)
3.5 "Vignettes in Gravitation and Cosmology" by Sriramkumar and Seshadri
3.6 New book: "3+1 Formalism in General Relativity" by Eric Gourgoulhon
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1. Conferences
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1.1 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (4th circ.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/31/thirteenth-marcel-grossmann-meeting…
Starting Sun, Jul 01, 2012 to Sat, Jul 07, 2012
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Additional Information: http://www.icra.it/MG/mg13/
The list of 72 parallel sessions (http://www.icra.it/mg/mg13/parallel_sessions.htm)
is now ready and interested participants can register themselves for the meeting and submit a short abstract for the parallel session of their choice. A preliminary list of confirmed invited plenary speakers is also available at http://www.icra.it/mg/mg13/invited_speakers.htm .
Note that no more than two abstracts should be submitted with exactly the same author list in order to keep the parallel sessions manageable. A few more parallel sessions might be added in the near future.
Early registration at 350€ is now possible extending through May 25, 2012, after which the registration fee will be 400€. The student fee is 150€. Abstracts for parallel session presentations must be submitted by June 15, 2012, but preferably at the time of registration and as early as possible. Chairpersons have been asked to give submitters preliminary judgments of abstracts for oral and poster presentation requests as they are received in order to create their programs, so delaying submission of an abstract decreases its chances of receiving an oral presentation. If a session receives too many worthy abstracts for oral presentation in one afternoon session, there is the possibility of splitting it into two sessions, while some pressure will be relieved by having poster sessions to allow presentation of excess abstracts.
MG13 will take place July 1-7, 2012 at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. Preregistration will take place Sunday, July 1, and the meeting will officially open Monday morning with the Marcel Grossmann awards announcement. During the six day conference a wide variety of topics will be discussed in the morning plenary sessions beginning with mathematical topics on Monday, quantum aspects of gravity on Tuesday, precision tests of general relativity on Wednesday, relativistic astrophysics on Thursday, cosmology and astroparticle physics on Friday and the latest scientific news and the history of physics Saturday. There will be five plenary lectures each morning and up to twenty parallel sessions in the four weekday afternoons excluding Wednesday, which is left free for a trip and the evening conference banquet. The plenary lectures will be held in the Aula Magna lecture hall and the parallel sessions at the AlbaNova University Center, both easily reachable by public transp
ortation from the city center.
In addition to the Wednesday evening banquet, there will be a reception by the mayor of Stockholm Tuesday evening, and popular level science lectures open to the participants and their accompanying persons and to the general public on Monday, Thursday and Friday evenings.
We have added some additional topics to the original program and parallel sessions. In particular in view of the expected July 4 announcement of the LHC at the Rochester conference in Australia and its astrophysical implications, we have added a special parallel session on astroparticle physics on Friday afternoon, chaired by Carlo Dionisi and Luciano Maiani who will report on these developments in the Saturday morning plenary session.
Since 1975, the Marcel Grossmann Meetings (on Recent Developments in Theoretical and Experimental General Relativity, Gravitation, and Relativistic Field Theories) have been organized in order to provide opportunities for discussing recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativistic field theories, emphasizing mathematical foundations, physical predictions and experimental tests. The objective of these meetings is to elicit exchange among scientists that may deepen our understanding of spacetime structures as well as to review the status of ongoing experiments aimed at testing Einstein’s theory of gravitation either from the ground or from space.
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1.2 2012 Conference on Computational Physics (CCP2012), Kobe (Japan)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/30/coference-on-computational-physics-…
Starting Sun, Oct 14, 2012 to Thu, Oct 18, 2012
Location: Kobe, Japan
Additional Information: http://www.ile.osaka-u.ac.jp/CCP2012/
We are pleased to announce that this year the Conference on Computational Physics will be held in Kobe (Japan), next to the K computer (presently ranked first of the TOP500).
The conference will also celebrate the opening of the K computer for shared use, starting from November 2012.
Purpose and concept of the CCP2012
The Conference on Computational Physics (CCP) is organized annually under the auspices of the Commission 20 of the IUPAP (International Union of Pure and Applied Physics).
We propose to organize the Japanese CCP meeting a little differently from the previous ones. Our goal is to encourage strong communication among different fields and to foster new collaborations between fundamental research and applications, through the commonality of numerical methods.
In particular, we will sort most of the parallel sessions on the basis of numerical methods, namely there will be a session on finite-difference methods, one on particle-dynamics methods, one on Monte Carlo methods, and so on, with contributions from different fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and related academic fields and industrial applications. More details will appear soon on the webpage:
http://www.ile.osaka-u.ac.jp/CCP2012/
Registration and abstract submission will open on May 1st.
Registration fees:
30000 yen (20000 yen for students) if paid before September 10, 2012.
35000 yen (25000 yen for students) if paid after September 10, 2012
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1.3 Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal ERE2012 (2nd circ.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/27/spanish-relativity-meeting-in-portu…
Starting Mon, Sep 03, 2012 to Fri, Sep 07, 2012
Location: Guimarães, Portugal
Additional Information: http://w3.math.uminho.pt/~ERE2012
The Spanish Relativity Meeting (ERE) is an international conference devoted to Relativity and Gravitation and is supported by the Spanish Society of Gravitation and Relativity (SEGRE) http://www.segre.es/en/congresos.shtml.
In 2012, the meeting will take place at the University of Minho in the town of Guimaraes (world heritage site and European capital of culture in 2012) from 3-7 September 2012.
Participants are encouraged to send their contributions. Contributed talks will be grouped according to their topic and scheduled in parallel sessions in the afternoon. The deadline for conference registration and abstract submission is 10th of June, 2012.
We advise participants to book accommodation well in advance as hotels in Guimaraes are expected to be more crowded than usual due to events of the European capital of culture.
CONFIRMED INVITED SPEAKERS
- Alan Rendall (Albert Einstein Institut, Golm, Germany)
- Claes Uggla (Karlstad University, Sweden)
- George Ellis (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
- Gabriel Lopes-Cardoso (IST, Lisbon, Portugal)
- Joerg Frauendiener (University of Otago, New Zealand)
- José Edelstein (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
- Juan Valiente Kroon (Queen Mary, University of London, U.K.)
- Laszlo Szabados (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary)
- Marc Mars (University of Salamanca, Spain)
- Pau Figueras (University of Cambridge, U.K.)
- Paul Tod (University of Oxford, U.K.)
- Pedro Ferreira (University of Oxford, U.K.)
- Peter Dunsby (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
- Vitor Cardoso (IST, Lisbon, Portugal)
EARLY REGISTRATION FEE
- SEGRE members = 250EUR
- Non SEGRE members = 280EUR
The registration fee will cover lunches, refreshments, an abstract booklet, a conference folder and the proceedings volume. The following social events are also covered:
- Welcome cocktail reception.
- Half a day visit tour.
- Conference dinner.
GRANTS
The SEGRE society has a limited number of grants to support some of the younger participants who are in the last years of their Ph.D., specially among those submitting a contribution to the conference. In order to apply for financial support please proceed to the ERE2012 website, "Grants" section.
To find out more, please visit our conference website at http://w3.math.uminho.pt/~ERE2012
We hope to see you all in Guimaraes,
The Local Organizing Committee (LOC)
Alfonso Garcia-Parrado
Estelita Vaz (Coordinator)
Irene Brito
Filipe Mena
Filipe Moura
M. Piedade Machado-Ramos
Viktor Czinner
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1.4 First VESF School on Advanced Detectors of Gravitational Waves, Cascina, (Italy)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/27/first-vesf-school-on-advanced-detec…
Starting Mon, Jun 18, 2012 to Fri, Jun 22, 2012
Location: Cascina (PI), Italy
Additional Information: http://www.roma1.infn.it/teongrav/VESF/SCHOOL_2012.html
June 18 - 22, 2012
Cascina, (Italy)
The Virgo EGO Scientific Forum (VESF) is launching a new program in the year when Earth-based GW detectors - Virgo and LIGO - are gearing up towards second-generation Interferometers.
The program will include topical courses focused on GW Advanced Detectors. It will offer a unique opportunity for young scientists already active or planning to work in that field, to get an in-depth training on specialized and state-of-the-art topics related to this research, like: science case, interferometer configuration, suspensions, thermal compensation, sensing and control, squeezing, lasers and more.
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1.5 CoQuS Summer School 2012 "Quantum Physics meets Gravity", Vienna, Austria
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/20/coqus-summer-school-2012-quantum-ph…
Starting Mon, Sep 03, 2012 to Fri, Sep 07, 2012
Location: Vienna, Austria
Additional Information: http://www.coqus.at/events/summerschool2012/
We are pleased to announce the 2012 CoQuS Summer School at the University of Vienna, devoted to the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravitation! This year's edition will be focused on four series of lectures held by international experts on both theoretical and experimental aspects of gravitational and quantum physics:
· Carlo Rovelli (Marseille, FR) giving an introduction to quantum gravity for quantum physicists
· Philippe Bouyer (Bordeaux, FR) , on experimental gravitation and geophysics with matter-wave sensors
· Michele Heurs (Hannover, DE), on gravitational wave detection and quantum control
· Ulf Leonhardt (St. Andrews, UK), on gravity analogues in quantum systems
The summer school is open to interested advanced undergraduates, graduates and junior post-docs with a good background in quantum mechanics. No extensive background in gravitational physics is required, since this school aims to give an introduction to topics in gravitational physics to quantum physicists. Each series of lecture will consists of about 4 x 2 hours lectures. Participants are encouraged to present and discuss their own research during dedicated poster sessions. The registration fee for the summer school is 170 EUR.
For more information and registration, please visit http://www.coqus.at/events/summerschool2012. The deadline for registration is June 26, 2012.
Subscribe to our mailinglist at https://lists.univie.ac.at/mailman/listinfo/coqussummerschool to receive updates regarding the summer school.
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1.6 BritGrav 12 in Southampton, UK (2nd circular)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/16/britgrav-12-in-southampton-uk/
Starting Tue, Apr 03, 2012 to Wed, Apr 04, 2012
Location: Southampton, UK
Additional Information: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~cjg/britgrav12
The 12th BritGrav (British Gravity) Meeting will be held on 3/4 April 2012 in the School of Mathematics, University of Southampton. The programme begins with coffee at 10.30 on Tuesday, with the first talk at 11, and ends at 4.30 on Wednesday. The meeting covers all areas of classical and quantum gravity including astrophysics, cosmology and experiments, and is intended to further collaborations and allow young researchers to showcase their work.
There is no registration fee, and participants are responsible for their own accommodation, meals and travel. All PhD students and postdocs will be able to give a talk, others if time allows. Current planning is for all talks to last 20 minutes including questions.
Tea and coffee will be provided in breaks, lunch can be bought on campus, and there will be a wine reception on Tuesday after the end of the talks programme. A small prize will be awarded for the best talk by a PhD student.
If you plan to participate, please email Carsten Gundlach, cjg[AT]soton.ac.uk. If you want to give a talk, please send a title and abstract (which can be amended later). A list of the talks submitted so far can be found on http://www.soton.ac.uk/~cjg/britgrav12.
A limited amount of funding will be available from the Gravitational Physics Group of the Institute of Physics to assist PhD students with travel and accommodation costs. If you want to apply for this, please let us know as soon as possible.
Carsten Gundlach and Nils Andersson (University of Southampton)
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1.7 Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications, Brdo (Slovenia)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/13/relativistic-positioning-systems-an…
Starting Wed, Sep 19, 2012 to Fri, Sep 21, 2012
Location: Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia
Additional Information: http://rgnss.fmf.uni-lj.si/workshop
We are pleased to announce that a three-days workshop on relativistic positioning systems and their scientific applications will be held at Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia, on 19-21 September 2012. The workshop is organized by the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Ljubljana and ESA Advanced Concepts Team. The goal of the workshop is to bring together those interested in the development of Relativistic Positioning Systems (RPS) and, in particular, to share ideas and establish future lines of research and collaborations.
Topics of the workshop include:
* Formulation of relativistic positioning systems and properties of emission coordinates
* Application to GNSS, relativistic reference frames, pulsar-based navigation and localization
* Inter-satellite links and autonomous GNSS
* Relativistic celestial mechanics (coordinate systems, Hamiltonian techniques...)
* Application to Earth sciences, astronomy and metrology
Also other contributions in line with the aims of the workshop will be considered.
If you are interested to attend, please register before 1st July 2012.
More information is available at http://rgnss.fmf.uni-lj.si/workshop.
There is no registration fee. The proceedings of the workshop will be published.
Confirmed invited speakers (Preliminay):
Bartolome Coll (Universitat de Valencia)
Angelo Tartaglia (Politecnico di Torino)
Francisco Amarillo Fernandez (ESA)
Andrej Cadez (Univ. of Ljubljana)
Scientific organizing committee:
Bertram Arbesser-Rastburg (ESA)
Sante Carloni (ESA)
Pacome Delva (Obs. Paris)
Clovis Jacinto de Matos (ESA)
Rune Floberghagen (ESA)
Uros Kostic (Univ. of Ljubljana)
Leopold Summerer (ESA)
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1.8 Xth School of Cosmology in Cargese: Gravitational Lenses
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/06/xth-school-of-cosmology/
Starting Mon, Sep 17, 2012 to Sat, Sep 22, 2012
Location: Cargèse (Corsica), France
Additional Information: http://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~cosmo/EC2012/EcoleLuminy12_a.html
Main topics:
- Weak gravitational lensing (a tool to find the equation of state of dark energy).
- Lensing galaxy clusters, the distribution of dark matter.
- Strong gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters, and study the first galaxies at high resolution.
- Extragalactic gravitational microlensing (quasars and dark matter).
- Galaxy-galaxy gravitational lensing.
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2. Jobs
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2.1 Lectureship position in Mathematics at University of York, UK
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/28/lectureship-position-in-mathematics…
Institution: York, UK
Deadline: Mon, Apr 16, 2012
Additional Information: http://maths.york.ac.uk/www/node/12390
We are seeking to appoint at least two new lecturers to enhance our research and teaching. Applications are welcomed from well-qualified candidates interested in any of our existing areas of activity, with strong applications in the areas of Mathematical Finance or Statistics particularly encouraged.
A successful candidate will possess an outstanding record of international research achievement, will contribute to the department’s teaching for both undergraduates and postgraduates, and play a part in the department’s administration.
Details of the Mathematics Department may be found on the web pages at: http://maths.york.ac.uk/www/Home
The two posts are full time and the salary range will be £35,938 - £44,166 per year.
Contact reference: Professor Ed Corrigan, +44(0)1904 323074
edward.corrigan[AT]york.ac.uk
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2.2 Copernicus Center Scholarship for PhD Researchers, Krakow, Poland
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/19/copernicus-center-scholarship-for-p…
Institution: Kraków, Poland
Deadline: Tue, May 15, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.copernicuscenter.edu.pl/events/
The Copernicus Center Scholarship for PhD Researchers, funded by The John Templeton Foundation, is offered to individuals who hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in the fields of: physics, cosmology, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy of science, history of science. The dissertations should be written in English and pertain to one of the following topics:
(1) Noncommutative geometry and its application in physics;
(2) Physical viability of metric nonlinear (higher derivative) gravity theories;
(3) Scientific method at its limit. Philosophical consequences of aspects theories and models.
The Copernicus Center offers two scholarships. The candidates should either already be PhD students (for no longer than 2 years before the deadline of the contest) or should begin PhD studies (alternately obtain the status of a visiting graduate student) before the start of the scholarship. The place of the PhD studies can be negotiated with the Copernicus Center, preferably at one of the Institutes with which the members of the group are affiliated. The scholarship in the amount of $1000 (gross amount before deductions which include: taxation,social security and health insurance; the scholarship will be converted to PLN using current exchange rate) is awarded for 18 months (proposed starting date October 2012).
Eligibility: individuals who hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) in the fields of: physics, cosmology, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy of science, history of science (adequate to the proposed research project) and are fluent in English.
Obligations:
(1) Preparation of 2 research papers and 4 talks during the scholarship.
(2) Preparation of the first draft of the PhD dissertation.
The applications should include:
(1) Motivation letter
(2) CV + the list of academic achievements (courses and marks, transcript of records)
(3) A scanned copy of the MA/MS diploma(s) or information on the expected date of their acquisition
(4) Research project (dissertation outline)
Apply to: info[AT]copernicuscenter.edu.pl (with the title: CCPHD)
Application deadline: May, 15, 2012
For further information concerning the research team see webpage:
http://www.copernicuscenter.edu.pl/research/104
All questions should be addressed to: info[AT]copernicuscenter.edu.pl
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2.3 Copernicus Center Scholarship for Postdoctoral Researchers, Krakow, Poland
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/19/copernicus-center-scholarship-for-p…
Institution: Krakow, Poland
Deadline: Tue, May 15, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.copernicuscenter.edu.pl/events/
The Copernicus Center Scholarship for Postdoctoral Researchers, funded by The John Templeton Foundation, is offered to researchers in the fields of: mathematics, mathematical physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The topic of the proposed research should pertain to one of the following issues:
- Noncommutative geometry and its application in physics;
- Physical viability of metric nonlinear (higher derivative) gravity theories;
- Cosmology (with focus on symbolic computation in cosmology);
- Scientific method at its limit. Philosophical consequences of aspects theories and models.
Copernicus Center offers one scholarship for a postdoctoral stay at the Jagiellonian University at the Institute chosen by the researcher (Mathematics, Physics or Astronomy).
The scholarship in the amount of $2000 (gross amount before deductions which include: taxation, social security and health insurance; the scholarship will be converted to PLN using current exchange rate) is awarded for 12 months (proposed starting date October 2012).
Application deadline: May, 15, 2012
Eligibility: all researchers who have a PhD (in physics or astronomy or mathematics) awarded after 01.01.2006 (or who will have it awarded before the beginning of the scholarship) and are fluent in English.
Application:
Please send CV including the list of publications and a short resume of your PhD Thesis, letter of motivation, and a short description of the research project to: info[AT]copernicuscenter.edu.pl (with the title: CCPOSTDOC)
The candidates should arrange the letter of recommendation to be sent directly to the above address.
For further information concerning the research team see webpage: http://www.copernicuscenter.edu.pl/research/104
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2.4 Postdoc in quantum theory at Imperial College
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/16/postdoc-in-quantum-theory-at-imperi…
Additional Information: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/theoreticalphysics
There will be a two-year EPSRC-funded postdoctoral position in the Theory Group of the Physics Department at Imperial College, starting no later than September 5, 2012, to work with Prof. Jonathan Halliwell on time in non-relativistic quantum theory, decoherence, emergent classicality and the quantum Zeno effect. Applicants should send their CV, publication list and 1-2 page research proposal to theory-job[AT]imperial.ac.uk and arrange for three referees to send letters to the same address. More detailed scientific enquiries should be addressed to j.halliwell[AT]imperial.ac.uk and more information about the research environment at Imperial College may be found on the website http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/theoreticalphysics. Applications received before March 31 2012 will receive full consideration.
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2.5 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology at Cambridge, UK
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/14/postdoctoral-position-in-cosmology-…
Institution: Cambridge, UK
Deadline: Wed, Apr 18, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/research/postapp/help.html
University of Cambridge
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Postdoctoral Research Associate
1 appointment
Grade 7: 27,578 - 35,938 GBP per annum
We invite applications for a postdoctoral research associate to join the Cambridge-Oxford collaboration "Establishing the Philosophy of Cosmology." The successful candidate will undertake research in the group's target areas such as
- The issue of probability measures, including potential uses of anthropic reasoning
- Space-time structure, both at very large and very small scales
- The cosmological constant problem and other examples of 'fine-tuning'
- Entropy, time and complexity in understanding the arrow(s) of time
- Symmetries, invariants and their role in describing the Universe as a whole.
Applicants with foundational interests outside these areas will also be considered.
The appointment is for 20 months commencing in January 2013 and is based in the Relativity and Gravitation research group, within the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. A parallel position will be created at the University of Oxford over the same period and applicants to Cambridge will also be considered for the Oxford post which has a similar job description.
The successful candidate will have or be about to receive a PhD in a relevant area of philosophy and/or cosmology-related physics and should have a demonstrated capacity for independent work and be capable of initiating research in a lively group. The candidate will be expected to assist with some of the project's activities.
Salary will be within the range 27,578-35,938 GBP p.a. depending on qualifications and experience. A benefits package and a research budget for travel and other expenses will be provided.
Applications for this vacancy are to be made online at http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/research/postapp/help.html. Further details, including a job description and selection criteria can be found on the above website.
Further enquiries can be directed to: ctc[AT]damtp.cam.ac.uk.
The deadline for applications is 18 April 2012. Applicants will be required to upload a completed CHRIS 6 application form, a statement of research interests, curriculum vitae, and list of publications, and the names and addresses of three referees as part of their online application. In addition, candidates should arrange for the three letters of reference to be sent to the group secretary, Lee Macdonald, at ctc[AT]damtp.cam.ac.uk by the closing date. Applications are acknowledged but not referee letters.
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2.6 1-yr postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational physics at Bishop's University
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/13/1-yr-postdoctoral-position-in-theor…
Institution: Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
Deadline: Thu, Apr 05, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.ubishops.ca
Applications are invited for a 1-year postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational physics at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Canada (http://www.ubishops.ca) commencing in the fall of 2012. The successful candidate will work with Prof. Valerio Faraoni in the areas of theoretical cosmology and/or alternative theories of gravity (especially scalar-tensor and f(R) gravity).
A PhD in Physics or a related area at the time the appointment begins is required. According to Quebec regulations, the applicant must have received a PhD less than five years from the beginning of the appointment (which can be extended to ten years under exceptional circumstances). Applicants should submit electronically an updated CV, list of publications, statement of research interests (preferably in a single pdf file using the subject "gravitational theory postdoc"), and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to vfaraoni[AT]ubishops.ca
Review of applications will begin on April 5, 2012. For more information contact the same email address or
Valerio Faraoni
Physics Department, Bishop’s University
2600 College Street, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada J1M 1Z7
Bishop's University implements an equal access employment/program under the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies.
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3. News
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3.1 New Book: 'Relativistic Cosmology' by G. Ellis, R. Maartens and M. MacCallum
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/30/new-book-relativistic-cosmology/
Additional Information: http://www.cambridge.org/9780521381154
"Relativistic Cosmology" by George F.R. Ellis, Roy Maartens and Malcolm A.H. MacCallum, was published on 22 March 2012.
Full publication details are available at http://www.cambridge.org/9780521381154 as is a sample consisting of the first 10 pages, the index, and the full table of contents. It's also listed on Amazon but not (yet) on Abe Books. CUP advise that stocks for the US will arrive in about 6 weeks.
The book has 636 pages and 68 black and white illustrations, many of which are also available in colour on the web page above. Extensive references (40 pages of them) are provided.
>From the cover:
Cosmology has been transformed by dramatic progress in high-precision observations and theoretical modelling. This book surveys key developments and open issues for graduate students and researchers. Using a relativistic geometric approach, it focuses on the general concepts and relations that underpin the standard model of the Universe.
Part 1 covers foundations of relativistic cosmology whilst Part 2 develops the dynamical and observational relations for all models of the Universe based on general relativity. Part 3 focuses on the standard model of cosmology, including inflation, dark matter, dark energy, perturbation theory, the cosmic microwave background, structure formation and gravitational lensing. It also examines modified gravity and inhomogeneity as possible alternatives to dark energy. Anisotropic and inhomogeneous models are described in Part 4, and Part 5 reviews deeper issues, such as quantum cosmology, the start of the universe and the multiverse proposal.
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3.2 From Black Clouds to Black Holes by J V Narlikar (3rd edition)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/30/from-black-clouds-to-black-holes-3r…
Additional Information: http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/8148.html
World Scientific Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics - Vol. 13
>From Black Clouds to Black Holes
(Third Edition)
by Jayant V Narlikar (Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, India)
This book presents in a simple style the success story of modern astrophysics — how the application of known physics to models of stars can, together with the observational data, help us understand what stars are made of, how they live and how they die. The account is non-technical but scientifically accurate. It is interspersed with anecdotes and analogies to make the subject matter readable and understandable even to a lay reader with some basic scientific background.
Contents:
- On Stars and Humans
- Light: The Storehouse of Information
- The Vital Statistics of Stars
- How Far are the Stars?
- A Star is Born
- The Secret of Stellar Energy
- The Origin of Chemical Elements
- When Stars Explode
- Very Dense Stars
- Black Holes
- Binary and Variable Stars
- The Quest Continues
Readership: Any reader interested in astronomy.
To enjoy a 25% discount, please quote NAM2012 as your discount code when you make your purchase. This offer is valid till end of April 2012.
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3.3 Highlights and Conclusions of the Chalonge 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/19/highlights-and-conclusions-of-the-c…
Additional Information: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2011.html
We are pleased to inform you that the Highlights and Conclusions of the Chalonge 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011 (65 pages, 21 figures) have appeared and are also available (.pdf format) on the web site of the Colloquium http://chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2011.html
ABSTRACT (Abridged)
The Chalonge 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011 was held on 20-22 July in the historic Paris Observatory's Perrault building, in the Chalonge School spirit combining real cosmological/astrophysical data and hard theory predictive approach connected to them in the Warm Dark Matter Standard Model of the Universe: News and reviews from Herschel, QUIET, Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), South Pole Telescole (SPT), Planck, PIXIE, the JWST, UFFO, KATRIN and MARE experiments; astrophysics, particle and nuclear physics warm dark matter (DM) searches and galactic observations, related theory and simulations, with the aim of synthesis, progress and clarification.
Philippe Andre, Peter Biermann, Pasquale Blasi, Daniel Boyanovsky, Carlo Burigana, Hector de Vega, Joanna Dunkley, Gerry Gilmore, Alexander Kashlinsky, Alan Kogut, Anthony Lasenby, John Mather, Norma Sanchez, Alexei Smirnov, Sylvaine Turck-Chieze present here their highlights of the Colloquium. Ayuki Kamada and Sinziana Paduroiu present here their poster highlights.
LambdaWDM (Warm Dark Matter) is progressing impressively over LambdaCDM whose galactic scale crisis and decline are staggering. The International School Daniel Chalonge issued an statement of strong support to the James Webb Space Telescope (JSWT). The Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011 was awarded to John C. Mather, Science PI of the JWST. Summary and conclusions are presented by H. J. de Vega, M. C. Falvella and N. G. Sanchez.
Overall, LambdaWDM and keV scale DM particles deserve dedicated astronomical and laboratory experimental searches, theoretical work and simulations. KATRIN experiment in the future could perhaps adapt its set-up to look to keV scale sterile neutrinos. It will be a a fantastic discovery to detect dark matter in a beta decay. Photos of the Colloquium are included. (Abridged)
We thank all again, both lecturers and participants, for having contributed so much to this Colloquium and look forward to seeing you again in a next Meeting of this series.
With Compliments and kind regards
Norma G Sanchez, Hector J de Vega
http://chalonge.obspm.fr
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3.4 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Gravitational-Wave Data Analysis" (major update)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/09/living-reviews-in-relativity-gravit…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-4
Living Reviews in Relativity has published an update of the review "Gravitational-Wave Data Analysis. Formalism and Applications: The Gaussian Case" by Piotr Jaranowski and Andrzej Królak on March 9, 2012.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2012-4
Jaranowski, Piotr A. and Królak, Andrzej
"Gravitational-Wave Data Analysis. Formalism and Applications: The Gaussian Case"
ACCEPTED: 2012-02-14
PUBLISHED: 2012-03-09
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-4
ABSTRACT:
The article reviews the statistical theory of signal detection in application to analysis of deterministic gravitational-wave signals in the noise of a detector. Statistical foundations for the theory of signal detection and parameter estimation are presented. Several tools needed for both theoretical evaluation of the optimal data analysis methods and for their practical implementation are introduced. They include optimal signal-to-noise ratio, Fisher matrix, false alarm and detection probabilities, ℱ-statistic, template placement, and fitting factor. These tools apply to the case of signals buried in a stationary and Gaussian noise. Algorithms to efficiently implement the optimal data analysis techniques are discussed. Formulas are given for a general gravitational-wave signal that includes as special cases most of the deterministic signals of interest.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.5 "Vignettes in Gravitation and Cosmology" by Sriramkumar and Seshadri
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/09/vignettes-in-gravitation-and-cosmol…
Additional Information: http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/7864.html
VIGNETTES IN GRAVITATION AND COSMOLOGY
edited by L Sriramkumar (Harish-Chandra Research Institute, India) and T R Seshadri (University of Delhi, India)
World Scientific
This book comprises expository articles on different aspects of gravitation and cosmology that are aimed at graduate students. The topics discussed are of contemporary interest assuming only an elementary introduction to gravitation and cosmology. The presentations are to a certain extent pedagogical in nature, and the material developed is not usually found in sufficient detail in recent textbooks in these areas.
Contents:
- Non-Linear Gravitational Clustering in an Expanding Universe
- Dark Ages and Cosmic Reionization
- Probing Fundamental Constant Evolution with Redshifted Spectral Lines
- Averaging the Inhomogeneous Universe
- Probing Cosmic Magnetic Fields with the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- Quantum Corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy
- Quantum Measurement and Quantum Gravity: Many Worlds or Collapse of the Wave Function?
- Generation and Evolution of Perturbations During Inflation and Reheating
- Patterns in Neural Processing
Readership: Graduate students and researchers interested in the areas of gravitation and cosmology.
Please quote *NAM2012* as a discount code to enjoy 25% discount from now till April 2012 when you purchase a book from our collection.
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3.6 New book: "3+1 Formalism in General Relativity" by Eric Gourgoulhon
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/03/05/new-book-31-formalism-in-general-re…
Additional Information: http://relativite.obspm.fr/3p1
3+1 Formalism in General Relativity: Bases of Numerical Relativity
Eric Gourgoulhon
Springer, 2012
294 pages
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Basic Differential Geometry
3. Geometry of Hypersurfaces
4. Geometry of Foliations
5. 3+1 Decomposition of Einstein Equation
6. 3+1 Equations for Matter and Electromagnetic Field
7. Conformal Decomposition
8. Asymptotic Flatness and Global Quantities
9. The Initial Data Problem
10. Choice of Foliation and Spatial Coordinates
11. Evolution Schemes
A. Conformal Killing Operator and Conformal Vector Laplacian
B. Sage Codes
More details at http://relativite.obspm.fr/3p1
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 The Time Machine Factory, Turin, Italy
1.2 17th Itzykson Meeting - Heart of Darkness: Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, Saclay, France
1.3 Relativity and Gravitation – 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (3rd circ.)
1.4 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Hanover, Germany
1.5 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Maryland, USA
1.6 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Rome, Italy
1.7 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Cambridge, MA
1.8 Advanced School in General Relativity in Sao Paolo: Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology
1.9 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics (2nd circ.)
1.10 2nd LOFT Science Meeting in Toulouse, France
1.11 Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop in Hawaii
1.12 International Conference on Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Physics and Mathematics, Uzhgorod, Ukraine
1.13 Einstein Toolkit New Users Workshop in Atlanta
2. Jobs
3. News
3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications"
3.2 The "Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize" and the "Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize" of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation 2013
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 The Time Machine Factory, Turin, Italy
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/29/the-time-machine-factory/
Starting Sun, Oct 14, 2012 to Fri, Oct 19, 2012
Location: Turin, Italy
Additional Information: http://timemachine.polito.it
We are pleased to announce that the conference ``The Time Machine Factory'' will be held in Torino (Italy), from October 14 to 19, 2012.
The conference is being organized by INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico of Torino, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica and Politecnico di Torino.
On behalf of the SOC, SOC Chairs,
Mariateresa Crosta
Marco Gramegna
Matteo Luca Ruggiero
SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE
The conference focuses on causality and nonlocality in physics, with emphasis on its implications with time machines. In particular these issues will be dealt with from the viewpoints of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The topological nature of spacetime in the framework of Quantum Mechanics suggests that both causality and locality need to be analyzed at a fundamental level, also by allowing the existence of entities that are more elementary than the spatial dimensions of everyday's life. The interplay of these entities influences the very nature of time, and their dynamics could lead to understand the emergence of the arrow of time. Focusing on these issues would help to understand the ultimate nature of time, its role in fundamental physics and in the formation of the Universe, thus allowing for a better comprehension of its large scale structure, with apparent implications on the astronomical reference systems.
INFORMATION
All information about the conference, such as scientific program, venue, travel, accommodation, events and social activities, important deadlines and so on, are available at the web page
http://timemachine.polito.it
Limited funds will be available for covering expenses for young researchers: please contact timemachine[AT]polito.it upon registration.
SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Mariateresa Crosta (chair, INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (co-chair, INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (co-chair, Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Orfeu Bertolami (Dep. Physics and Astronomy - Univ. Porto); Donato Bini (Ist. M. Picone - CNR, ICRA, INFN); Salvatore Capozziello (Dep. Phys. Sciences - Univ. Napoli, INFN); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino); Fernando de Felice (Dep. Physics - Univ. Padova); Marco Genovese (INRIM); Robert T. Janzen (Villanova University, ICRA); Christophe Leponcin-Lafitte (SYRTE, Obs. de Paris); Oldrich Semerak (Inst. Th. Physics - Charles University, Prague), Angelo Tartaglia (DISAT - Politecnico di Torino, INFN).
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Monica Capone (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino, INFN); Tullia Carriero (INAF,OATo); Sandro Coriasco (Dep. Mathematics - Univ. Torino); Mariateresa Crosta (INAF,OATo); Marco Gramegna (INRIM); Matteo Luca Ruggiero (DISAT - Politecnico di Torino, INFN); Willy Merz (Fondazione Merz); Enzo Obiso (PHOS).
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1.2 17th Itzykson Meeting - Heart of Darkness: Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, Saclay, France
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/29/17th-itzykson-meeting-heart-of-dark…
Starting Mon, Jun 18, 2012 to Wed, Jun 20, 2012
Location: IPhT (CEA/Saclay), France
Additional Information: http://indico.in2p3.fr/conferenceDisplay.py?ovw=True&confId=6388
The Itzykson Meeting is held every year in the Institut de Physique Théorique of CEA-Saclay, to honour the memory of Claude Itzykson. The 17th edition of this meeting, to take place on June 18−20 2012, is devoted to dark energy and modified gravity.
This meeting will bring together researchers involved in the study of Dark Energy and Modified Gravity, with the aim of reviewing and discussing theory and observations. The main topics will be:
- observational tests of the acceleration of the universe
- dark energy
- modified gravity
- tests of gravity
- effects of dark energy and modified gravity on structure formation
- N-body simulations
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1.3 Relativity and Gravitation – 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (3rd circ.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/27/relativity-and-gravitation-%e2%80%9…
Starting Mon, Jun 25, 2012 to Fri, Jun 29, 2012
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Additional Information: http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/
The conference is organized at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s stay in Prague, with the aim of providing an overview of the development and progress achieved in general relativity and its applications since then.
The main topics of the conference include:
- Mathematical relativity
- Numerical relativity
- Relativistic astrophysics
- Relativistic cosmology
- Quantum gravity
- Gravitation and experiment
- Conceptual and historical issues
The meeting is organized under the auspices of the Rector of Charles University. The lectures will take place in the historical complex of the University in the heart of Prague’s Old Town.
Scientific Program
The schedule of the conference will include plenary lectures and up to three parallel sessions in the afternoon. Posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference. The scientific program will be based primarily on invited lectures, the list of which is now essentially completed.
Confirmed speakers include:
Marek Abramowicz (Physics Department, Göteborg University, Göteborg)
Innermost part of accretion disks around black holes
Lars Andersson (Albert-Einstein-Institut Golm, Potsdam)
Cosmological models and stability
Abhay Ashtekar (Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, Penn State University, University Park )
T.B.A.
Leor Barack (School of Mathematics, University of Southampton, Southampton)
Gravitational self-force: orbital mechanics beyond the geodesic approximation
Julian Barbour (Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford)
Prague and the conception of general relativity: Kepler, Mach and Einstein
Jiří Bičák (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Charles University, Prague)
Einstein and Prague
Donato Bini (Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo "M. Picone", CNR, Rome)
T.B.A.
Piotr Bizoń (Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Krakow)
Instability of anti de-Sitter spacetime
Bernd Brügmann (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena)
Numerical Relativity and Black Holes
Chris Clarkson (Centre for Cosmology, Astrophysics and Gravity, and Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch)
Dark energy and inhomogeneity
Thibault Damour (Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Paris)
T.B.A.
Karsten Danzmann (Albert-Einstein-Institut Hannover and Leibniz University, Hannover)
T.B.A.
John Friedman (Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)
Stability of relativistic stars
Helmut Friedrich (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam)
The large scale Einstein evolution problem
Valeri Frolov (Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton)
Black holes, hidden symmetry and complete integrability
Gary Gibbons (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge)
Links between General Relativity and other parts of physics
Gabriela González (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge)
T.B.A.
Michael Kramer (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn and Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester)
Einstein's gravity as seen by a cosmic lighthouse keeper
Karel Kuchař (Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City )
Canonical quantum gravity: Einstein's posthumous anathema
Jerzy Lewandowski (Department of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw)
Loop quantum gravity: the status report
Marc Mars (Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca)
T.B.A.
Ramesh Narayan (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Harvard University Department of Astronomy, Cambridge (USA))
Energy Extraction from Spinning Black Holes: Relativistic Jets
Gernot Neugebauer (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena)
Stationary two-black-hole configurations: A non-existence proof for disconnected horizons
Hermann Nicolai (Albert-Einstein-Institut Golm, Potsdam)
Quantum gravity: the view from particle physics
Harvey Reall (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge)
Higher dimensional black holes
Luciano Rezzolla (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam)
Using numerical relativity to explore fundamental physics and astrophysics
Misao Sasaki (Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto)
Inflation and birth of cosmological perturbations
Gerhard Schäfer (Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena)
Hamiltonian formalism of spinning black holes in general relativity
Peter Schneider (Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn)
T.B.A.
Bernard Schutz (Albert-Einstein-Institute Golm, Potsdam)
Gravity talks: observing the Universe with gravitational waves
Alexei Starobinsky (Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Moscow)
f(R) gravity--the most straightforward generalization of the Einstein gravity
Robert Wald (Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago)
T.B.A.
Clifford Will (Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis)
Testing General Relativity: Centenary Highlights and Future Prospects
Space will be reserved also for contributed oral and poster presentations. We have already obtained a number of interesting contributions. Please see below for abstract submission information.
Accommodation
Prague offers a broad range of hotels, hostels, and other lodging options. For more information on accommodation, visit our web page http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/accommodation where you will find three choices: prearranged accommodation, book accommodation yourself, and budget accommodation.
Registration
Standard registration fee: EUR 350 before April 15, 2012.
Late registration fee: EUR 450 after April 15, 2012.
In addition to conference participation, the registration fee includes: abstract book and conference materials; coffee breaks; welcome cocktail on Sunday, June 24; classical music concert (by Škampa string quartet) in the Gothic Aula Magna of Charles University on Tuesday, June 26; guided tour through Einstein’s Prague followed by banquet on Thursday, June 28 (accompanying persons need a separate banquet ticket).
Due to spacetime constraints, the number of participants is limited to around 150 of which more than 100 have already been taken. It is thus possible that registration may close before April 15. By now we have finished processing applications for the reduced conference fee (EUR 200) and informed the applicants.
Abstract Submission
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations by April 15, 2012. Contributed presentations will be selected by the organizers. Please note that especially the number of oral contributions is limited. The abstract submission form is available at http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/registration, the registration section of the conference website.
Important Dates
April 15, 2012: Standard registration closes; abstract submission deadline.
June 24, 2012: See you in Prague!
Scientific Organizing Committee
Marek Abramowicz, Lars Andersson, Abhay Ashtekar, Julian Barbour, Jiří Bičák, Roger Blandford, Bernd Brügmann, Piotr Chruściel, Thibault Damour, Karsten Danzmann, Fernando de Felice, George Ellis, John Friedman, Helmut Friedrich, Valeri Frolov, Gary Gibbons, Gary Horowitz, Joseph Katz, Karel Kuchař, Jerzy Lewandowski, Gernot Neugebauer, Hermann Nicolai, Igor Novikov, Martin Rees, Oscar Reula, Luciano Rezzolla, Misao Sasaki, Gerhard Schäfer, Bernd Schmidt, Alexei Starobinsky, Paul Tod, Robert Wald, Clifford Will.
For more detailed information, please visit http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/.
Jiří Bičák (on behalf of SOC and LOC)
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1.4 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Hanover, Germany
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in…
Starting Mon, Sep 23, 2013 to Fri, Sep 27, 2013
Location: Hanover, Germany
Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org
23-09-2013 27-09-2013
Hanover, Germany
Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members only.
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1.5 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Maryland, USA
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in…
Starting Mon, Mar 18, 2013 to Fri, Mar 22, 2013
Location: University of Maryland, USA
Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org
18-03-2013 22-03-2013
University of Maryland, USA
Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members.
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1.6 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Rome, Italy
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in…
Starting Mon, Sep 10, 2012 to Fri, Sep 14, 2012
Location: Rome, Italy
Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org
10-09-2012 14-09-2012
Rome, Italy
Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members
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1.7 LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in Cambridge, MA
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/23/ligo-virgo-collaboration-meeting-in…
Starting Mon, Mar 19, 2012 to Fri, Mar 23, 2012
Location: Cambridge, MA, USA
Additional Information: http://www.ligo.org
19-03-2012 23-03-2012
Cambridge, MA, USA
Meeting open to LIGO-Virgo collaboration members.
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1.8 Advanced School in General Relativity in Sao Paolo: Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/22/advanced-school-in-general-relativi…
Starting Mon, Jul 16, 2012 to Fri, Jul 27, 2012
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Additional Information: http://www.ictp-saifr.org/?page_id=1076
16 - 27 July, 2012
Instituto de Fisica Teorica - UNESP -
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Modern technology is improving our observations of neutron stars, pulsars, black holes, and other compact objects, which only can be understood in the context of general relativity. Moreover, the direct observation of gravitational waves, expected in the next years, should dramatically increase our comprehension of various astrophysical phenomena. At the same time, only a deep understanding of general relativity will enable physicists to grasp the very meaning of precise measurements of some cosmological observations. The aim of the School is to discuss some of the most important modern topics of astrophysics and cosmology in the context of general relativity. Students are expected to have had some previous contact with general relativity. There is no registration fee.
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1.9 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics (2nd circ.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/21/14th-canadian-conference-on-general…
Starting Mon, Jul 09, 2012 to Thu, Jul 12, 2012
Location: St. John's, NF, Canada
Additional Information: http://www.ccgrra14.ca
This is the second announcement for the the 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics which will take place July 9-12, 2012 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. CCGRRA14 is the latest in a biennial series of meetings that bring together Canadian and international relativists for scientific discussion and exchange. These meetings are broadly based, covering the wide range of research done in Canada including mathematical and numerical relativity, quantum gravity, string-theoretic approaches to gravity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology.
Invited lectures will be given by: Patrick Brady (U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Robert Brandenberger (McGill U.), Sergio Dain (U. Nacional de Cordoba), Andrew Frey (U. of Winnipeg), Valeri Frolov (U. of Alberta), Veronika Hubeny (Durham U.), Hari Kunduri (Memorial U.), Robert Mann (U of Waterloo), Harald Pfeiffer (U. of Toronto), Eric Poisson (U. of Guelph) and Sanjeev Seahra (U. New Brunswick, Fredericton). In addition to these plenary lectures, time will be allotted in the afternoons for contributed talks from members of the national and international community. Post-docs and grad students are especially encouraged to contribute talks.
The meeting will begin with an opening reception on Monday, July 9th. Talks will happen from Tuesday morning (the 10th) until Thursday evening (the 12th), including a public lecture on Tuesday night. On Wednesday afternoon there will be an organized whale-watching trip to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve followed by a banquet on the beach.
For more information please see the website http://www.ccgrra14.ca or contact ccgrra14[AT]gmail.com. Registration is now open. It will close on June 1.
Organizing Committee: Ivan Booth (ibooth[AT]mun.ca), Hari Kunduri (hkkunduri[AT]mun.ca), Ben Tippett (bktippett[AT]mun.ca).
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1.10 2nd LOFT Science Meeting in Toulouse, France
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/13/2nd-loft-science-meeting-in-toulous…
Starting Mon, Sep 24, 2012 to Thu, Sep 27, 2012
Location: Toulouse, France
Additional Information: http://www.isdc.unige.ch/loft/index.php/meetings/second-loft-science-meeting
Toulouse, France
24-27 September
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of the four ESA Cosmic vision mission candidates competing for a launch opportunity at the start of 2020s. LOFT will answer fundamental questions about the motion of matter orbiting close to the event horizon of a black hole, and the state of matter in neutron stars. Following the successful first science meeting, the LOFT Consortium is pleased to invite the Astrophysics community at large to discover the progress achieved in the instruments' design and provide an essential contribution to finalizing of the LOFT Yellow Book.
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1.11 Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop in Hawaii
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/10/gravitational-wave-advanced-detecto…
Starting Sun, May 13, 2012 to Sat, May 19, 2012
Location: Hawaii, USA
Additional Information: http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/gwadw2012/
Gravitational-Wave Advanced Detector Workshop
May 13-19, 2012
Waikoloa Marriott Resort, Hawaii
Gravitational Wave Detectors for 2015, 2020, and 2025
The last decade has produced pioneering demonstrations of the technologies to observe astrophysical gravitational waves across the frequency band from kilohertz to nanohertz. Advanced interferometric detectors (Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO-HF) are now under construction, and within a few years may yield their first observations. The LISA Pathfinder mission is nearing launch and will provide momentum for a full-scale gravitational wave observation mission. The international pulsar timing effort is steadily marching toward its targets. With these foundations in place, it is time to push the developments that will take the field of gravitational waves astrophysics into the current and next decades. This workshop will address techniques that can be implemented to enhance the detectors currently under construction, as well as new detectors that may be proposed. New ideas to reduce noise, improve robustness, and extend the frequency spectrum of observation will be
discussed along with progress on long-term ongoing developments.
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1.12 International Conference on Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Physics and Mathematics, Uzhgorod, Ukraine
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/10/non-euclidean-geometry-in-modern-ph…
Starting Tue, May 22, 2012 to Fri, May 25, 2012
Location: Uzhgorod (Ungvár), Ukraine
Additional Information: http://bgl.iep.org.ua
8-th Bolyai-Gauss-Lobachevsky Conference
Uzhgorod, UKRAINE
22- 25 May 2012
BGL, after the names (alphabetically!) of the founders of the Non-Euclidean geometry, is a series of biannual international conferences, held in various places of Central and Eastern Europe (for history see, e.g.: http://bgl.iep.org.ua/) The subject of the Conferences includes mathematics, physics and history of science. The conferences are bringing together scientists from East and West. The conferences have also certain Mitteleuropaeisch flavor, dominated by Bolyai's and Lobachevski's co-patriots. Co-patriots of Karl Friedrich Gauss are welcome in Uzhgorod at BGL-8.
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1.13 Einstein Toolkit New Users Workshop in Atlanta
---------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/06/einstein-toolkit-new-users-workshop/
Starting Tue, Apr 03, 2012 to Fri, Apr 06, 2012
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Additional Information: https://docs.einsteintoolkit.org/et-docs/ET_Workshop_Spring_2012
The Einstein Toolkit (http://einsteintoolkit.org) will host its spring workshop 2012 following the April APS meeting in Atlanta, GA, from Tuesday, April 3rd, 4pm to Friday April 6th, noon at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
This workshop is targeted at new and potential new users of the relativity infrastructure. It will provide a general introductions into numerical relativity (although some previous knowledge would be beneficial) and in code development within large collaborations. Hands-on sessions will help to familiarize attendees with the Einstein Toolkit. Participants are asked to bring their own laptops. We would like to invite especially students from physics and computer science to participate.
The number of attendees is limited, and while registration is free, it is required. We anticipate to be able to support a small number of participants financially, by covering parts/all of their travel, hotel and meal cost. Preference will be given to students.
In order register, write an email to workshop[AT]einsteintoolkit.org and specify:
* your name, affiliation and title
* your estimated arrival and departure time/date
* whether you apply for support (and if so, state if you are undergraduate / graduate student / postdoc
* your special needs
Detailed workshop information can be found at
https://docs.einsteintoolkit.org/et-docs/ET_Workshop_Spring_2012.
The Einstein Toolkit Consortium.
=================================================================
2. Jobs
=================================================================
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/27/living-reviews-in-relativity-brane-…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-3
Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications" by Joan Simón on 27 February 2012.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2012-3
Simón, Joan
"Brane Effective Actions, Kappa-Symmetry and Applications"
ACCEPTED: 2012-01-09
PUBLISHED: 2012-02-27
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-3
ABSTRACT:
This is a review on brane effective actions, their symmetries and some of its applications. Its first part uncovers the Green-Schwarz formulation of single M- and D-brane effective actions focusing on kinematical aspects: the identification of their degrees of freedom, the importance of world volume diffeomorphisms and kappa symmetry, to achieve manifest spacetime covariance and supersymmetry, and the explicit construction of such actions in arbitrary on-shell supergravity backgrounds.
Its second part deals with applications. First, the use of kappa symmetry to determine supersymmetric world volume solitons. This includes their explicit construction in flat and curved backgrounds, their interpretation as BPS states carrying (topological) charges in the supersymmetry algebra and the connection between supersymmetry and Hamiltonian BPS bounds. When available, I emphasise the use of these solitons as constituents in microscopic models of black holes. Second, the use of probe approximations to infer about non-trivial dynamics of strongly coupled gauge theories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. This includes expectation values of Wilson loop operators, spectrum information and the general use of D-brane probes to approximate the dynamics of systems with small number of degrees of freedom interacting with larger systems allowing a dual gravitational description.
Its final part briefly discusses effective actions for N D-branes and M2-branes. This includes both SYM theories, their higher order corrections and partial results in covariantising these couplings to curved backgrounds, and the more recent supersymmetric Chern–Simons matter theories describing M2-branes using field theory, brane constructions and 3-algebra considerations.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.2 The "Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize" and the "Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize" of the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation 2013
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/02/06/the-juergen-ehlers-thesis-prize-and…
The International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation awards two Ph.D. thesis prizes, one in classical gravity and one in quantum gravity. One prize in each category is awarded at each triennial GRG conference. The monetary value of each award is US $1,500. These prizes complement the Gravitational Wave thesis prize awarded by GWIC, for which the Society is the trustee of the funds.
The Jürgen Ehlers thesis prize is sponsored by Springer, publishers of the Society's journal "General Relativity and Gravitation", and will cover the areas of mathematical and numerical general relativity and gravitation in a broad sense. The Bergmann-Wheeler thesis prize is sponsored by the UK Institute of Physics, publishers of "Classical and Quantum Gravity", and will encompass all approaches to quantum gravity.
The Society seeks nominations for both prizes for award in 2013. The deadline for receipt of the nomination packet is September 30th, 2012. The nominator must be a member of the Society. Nominators can make at most one nomination in each category. The nominee need not be a member of the Society but the official defense must have taken place between October 1, 2009 and September 30th, 2012. The nomination package will consist of:
i) A nomination letter summarizing the main results and their importance and elaborating the student's role in case of joint work.
ii) A PDF file of the thesis, and of any supporting papers which formed an integral part of the thesis submission. (For any such paper, reference to a readily available public source is acceptable instead.)
iii) A CV and the publication list of the nominee.
iv) An official University document showing the date of the successful Ph.D. defense. (This can be sent later, if not available by September 30th, 2012.)
v) One or two optional letters in support from experts. At least one of these is required if the nominator is a supervisor of the Ph.D. thesis.
The primary criteria for selection will be the high quality of scientific results, creativity and originality, and the significance of results for the broad area of the prize. The winner for each prize will be chosen by a committee of leading international experts in the field approximately six months before the GR20 conference which will be held in Warsaw on 8-12 July 2013. This will provide the winners ample time to plan travel to the conference. The prize is conditional to the winner attending the conference (the Executive committee of the GRG Society may allow the prize to be given in absentia in exceptional cases.)
Nominations for the Bergman-Wheeler prize should be submitted electronically, possibly packaged in a single email, to the address gravity[AT]cpt.univ-mrs.fr. If it is not possible to send a nomination in electronic form, please send 4 hard copies to Carlo Rovelli, CPT-CNRS, Case 907, av. de Luminy, F-13288, Marseille Cedex 9, France.
Nominations for the Ehlers prize should be submitted electronically to Bernd Brügmann, c/o Renate Wagner Renate.Wagner[AT]uni-jena.de. If it is not possible to send a nomination in electronic form, please send 4 hard copies to Renate Wagner, Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
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02 Feb '12
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 Multiverse and Fundamental Cosmology in Szczecin, Poland
1.2 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (3rd circ.)
1.3 Inaugural meeting of the Research Training Group "Models of Gravity", Bremen
1.4 Workshop "Landscapes for Quantum Gravity" in Pavia, Italy
1.5 Geometry and topology in (quantum) gravity session at QQQ 2012 conference in Tallinn, Estonia
1.6 Central European Relativity Seminar in Cracow
1.7 Black Holes and Information at KITP, Santa Barbara
1.8 Workshop on Gravitational Wave Bursts in Tobermory, Scotland, UK
1.9 Gravitation and cosmology session at QQQ 2012 conference in Tallinn, Estonia
1.10 9th LISA Symposium in Paris
1.11 Workshop on The Physics of De Sitter Spacetime in Hannover
1.12 Recent Developments in Gravity (NEB 15), Crete (Greece)
2. Jobs
2.1 Postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational-wave physics at Southampton
2.2 Two postdoctoral positions in theoretical cosmology at Portsmouth
2.3 Two Tenure-Track Positions in Theoretical Physics at Sao Paulo
2.4 EDECS-PhD position in Cosmology at LUTH (Paris)
2.5 EDECS-Postdoc in Cosmology at LUTH (Paris)
3. News
3.1 Death of Franco Pacini, Florence
3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: article updates by Winicour and Adamo et al.
3.3 Gravitational Wave Tests of Alternative Theories of Gravity in the Advanced Detector Era at MSU
3.4 eLISA(NGO) - Revealing a hidden Universe: opening a new chapter of discovery
3.5 Call for nominations: fellows of the GRG Society
3.6 2012 Awards for Essays on Gravitation
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 Multiverse and Fundamental Cosmology in Szczecin, Poland
------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/31/multiverse-and-fundamental-cosmolog…
Starting Mon, Sep 10, 2012 to Fri, Sep 14, 2012
Location: Szczecin, Poland
Additional Information: http://cosmo.fiz.univ.szczecin.pl
Dear Collegues,
We invite you to take part in our conference “Multiverse and Fundamental Cosmology” which will take place in Szczecin, Poland from 10th till 14th of September 2012. This is the third event in the series of fundamental cosmology conferences organized by our cosmology group in Szczecin (previous were Cosmofun'2005 and Grasscosmofun'09).
This time the task of the conference is to bring together specialists in fundamental cosmology (superstring, brane and M-theory), quantum cosmology and dark energy and the specialists dealing with the multiverse concept (variation of fundamental constants, decoherent histories, superstring landscape etc.). It is planned that the invited lectures and short contributions will be published in a conference proceedings. The organizer is the Cosmology Group of the University of Szczecin and collaborators are the Polish Physical Society, the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Krakow, and the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Swierk.
Invited speakers are:
Martin Bojowald, Univ. Penn State, USA
Robert R. Caldwell, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA
Paul C.W. Davies, Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona St. Univ., USA
Michael Heller, Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Krakow, Poland
Jerzy Jurkiewicz, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Claus Kiefer, Univ. Cologne, Germany
Anthony Lasenby, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK
Renate Loll, Univ. Utrecht, The Netherlands
Carlos J.A.P. Martins Univ. Porto, Portugal
David Polarski, Univ. Montpellier, France
Alexei Starobinsky, Lebedev Institute, Moscow, Russia
Shinji Tsujikawa Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
Jean-Philippe Uzan, IAP, Paris, France
Alexander Vilenkin, Tufts University, USA
We encourage you to register early through our server (http://cosmo.fiz.univ.szczecin.pl) by filling in a registration form and submitting it to a conference address: mcosmo12[AT]wmf.univ.szczecin.pl.
Looking forward to seeing you in Szczecin.
With compliments,
Mariusz P. Dabrowski (Organizing Committee chair)
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1.2 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm (3rd circ.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/31/mg13-thirteenth-marcel-grossmann-me…
Starting Sun, Jul 01, 2012 to Sat, Jul 07, 2012
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Additional Information: http://www.icra.it/MG/mg13/
The list of 70 parallel sessions is now ready and interested participants can register themselves for the meeting and submit a short abstract for the parallel session of their choice. A preliminary list of confirmed invited plenary speakers is also available.
Early registration at 350€ will be possible starting February 10, 2012, extending through June 15, 2012, after which the registration fee will be 400€. The student fee is 150€. Abstracts for parallel session presentations must be submitted by June 1, 2012, but preferably at the time of registration.
MG13 will take place July 1-7, 2012 at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. Preregistration will take place Sunday, July 1, and the meeting will officially open Monday morning with the Marcel Grossmann awards announcement. During the six day conference a wide variety of topics will be discussed in the morning plenary sessions beginning with mathematical topics on Monday, quantum aspects of gravity on Tuesday, precision tests of general relativity on Wednesday, relativistic astrophysics on Thursday, cosmology and astroparticle physics on Friday and the latest scientific news and the history of physics Saturday. There will be five plenary lectures each morning and up to twenty parallel sessions in the four weekday afternoons excluding Wednesday, which is left free for a trip and the evening conference banquet. The plenary lectures will be held in the Aula Magna lecture hall and the parallel sessions at the AlbaNova University Center, both easily reachable by public transp
ortation from the city center.
Since 1975, the Marcel Grossmann Meetings (on Recent Developments in Theoretical and Experimental General Relativity, Gravitation, and Relativistic Field Theories) have been organized in order to provide opportunities for discussing recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativistic field theories, emphasizing mathematical foundations, physical predictions and experimental tests. The objective of these meetings is to elicit exchange among scientists that may deepen our understanding of spacetime structures as well as to review the status of ongoing experiments aimed at testing Einstein’s theory of gravitation either from the ground or from space.
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1.3 Inaugural meeting of the Research Training Group "Models of Gravity", Bremen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/31/inaugural-meeting-of-the-research-t…
Starting Wed, Mar 28, 2012 to Fri, Mar 30, 2012
Location: Bremen, Germany
Additional Information: http://www.models-of-gravity.org
The DFG Research Training Group ''Models of Gravity'' is starting April 1st, 2012. The theoretical research will cover solutions of Einstein equations and its generalizations, the interpretation of these solution through the motion of test objects, and applications of this in astrophysics, cosmology, clocks in space, geodesy, etc.
Confirmed invited speakers include:
Bernd Bruegmann (Jena)
Nathalie Deruelle (Paris)
George Ellis (Cape Town)
Johanna Erdmenger (Munich)
Eva Grebel (Heidelberg)
Claus Kiefer (Cologne)
Malcolm MacCallum (Bristol)
Tanja Mehlstaeubler (Braunschweig)
Charles Misner (Maryland)
Patrick Peters (Paris)
Alena Pravdova (Prague)
Mairi Sakellariadou (London)
The meeting will start with an opening ceremony on March 28, at 09:30 a.m. and ends March 30, at 4 p.m. The detailed program will soon be published on the webpage http://www.models-of-gravity.org
For registration, please send an e-mail to secretariat[AT]models-of-gravity.org
No fees are required.
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1.4 Workshop "Landscapes for Quantum Gravity" in Pavia, Italy
-------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/30/workshop-landscapes-for-quantum-gra…
Starting Thu, Feb 16, 2012 to Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Location: Pavia, Italy
PHYSICS COLLOQUIA - The Graduate School of Physics - The University of Pavia
LANDSCAPES FOR QUANTUM GRAVITY
Department of Physics, via Bassi 6, Pavia, Italy
In recent years the possible scenarios for a quantum gravity theory have grown more varied than ever. The panorama offers suggestive landscapes ranging from String Theory to an information-theoretic origin of the gravitational field not needing a direct quantization. Loop Quantum Gravity has been an active player in shaping this varied landscape and the idea of this workshop is to offer a panoramic view of the subject with a few Colloquium style talks addressed to graduate students not necessarily familiar with current research in quantum gravity.
February Thursday 16th, 2012
10:00-10:50 Francesca Vidotto "General covariant transition amplitude in quantum cosmology"
11:00-15:00 Lunch Break
15:00-15:50 Carlo Rovelli "Covariant LQG"
16:00-16:30 Coffee Break
16:30-17:20 Simone Speziale "Loop quantum gravity and polyhedra"
February Friday 17, 2012
10:00-10:50 Giorgio Immirzi "Elementary geometry of Lorentzian spinfoam"
11:00-11:50 Etera Livine "Spinor Networks: from classical discrete geometry to quantum gravity"
12:00-15:00 Lunch Break
15:00-15:50 Edward Wilson-Ewing "Loop Quantum Cosmology"
16:00-16:50 Discussion and final remarks (Mauro Carfora)
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1.5 Geometry and topology in (quantum) gravity session at QQQ 2012 conference in Tallinn, Estonia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/29/qqq-12-3-quantum-algebra-geometry-i…
Starting Tue, Jul 10, 2012 to Sat, Jul 14, 2012
Location: Talinn, Estonia
Additional Information: http://www.agmp.eu/qqq/sess_pro.php?con=tln12&sess=GTG
The conference "QQQ 12 - 3Quantum: Algebra Geometry Information", July 10-14 2012 in Talinn, Estonia, will host a parallel session "Geometry and topology in (quantum) gravity".
The conference is a satellite conference of the 6th European Congress of Mathematics, the 13th Marcel Grossmann Meeting and the International Congress on mathematical Physics ICMP 12. It covers a wide variety of topics from (quantum) gravity, non-commutative geometry, quantum groups, deformation theory and quantisation and topological field theories.
If you are interested in attending the conference and presenting a talk in the session "Geometry and topology in (quantum) gravity", please register as soon as possible on the conference website with the correct information on the session and title and abstract of your proposed talk:
http://www.agmp.eu/qqq/app.php
Currently, there is no funding to cover travel or accommodation costs for speakers. However, there is a possibility of waiving the conference fee for junior scientists (PhD students).
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1.6 Central European Relativity Seminar in Cracow
-------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/28/central-european-relativity-seminar/
Starting Thu, Feb 02, 2012 to Sat, Feb 04, 2012
Location: Poland, Cracow
Additional Information: http://th.if.uj.edu.pl/~jalmuzna/seminar/seminar/Main.html
The topic of the meeting is general relativity. The main purpose is to bring the relativity community in Central Europe together and to provide a forum for young researchers (students and postdocs).
2-4 February 2012
Institute of Physics Jagiellonian University, Reymonta 4, Cracow.
Lecture room 057
Organizers:
Robert Beig (Vienna)
Piotr Bizoń (Cracow)
Piotr Chruściel (Vienna)
Helmut Friedrich (Golm)
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1.7 Black Holes and Information at KITP, Santa Barbara
------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/27/black-holes-and-information/
Starting Mon, May 21, 2012 to Fri, May 25, 2012
Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Additional Information: http://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/dbdetails?acro=bitbranes-c12
Location and Date: KITP, University of California, Santa Barbara May 21, 2012 - May 25, 2012
Conference begins 8:00am May 21, 2012 with registration. Planned ending time is roughly 5pm on Friday May 25.
Coordinators: Vijay Balasubramanian, Alex Maloney, Don Marolf, Joan Simon
Scientific Advisors: Joseph Polchinski, Theodore Jacobson
See http://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/dbdetails?acro=bitbranes-c12
The physics of black holes and the resolution of the information paradox remain among the deepest mysteries in theoretical physics. In addition to their intrinsic interest, many arguments suggest that these issues are intimately related to the emergence of locality, causality, and even spacetime itself from some more fundamental description.
``Black Holes and information'' will focus on such relations, and in particular on the notion of 'holography' which has played a crucial role in many recent developments. The conference will also explore extensions of these ideas to new settings, and the corresponding implications. Central questions include the implications of holography for cosmology, the holographic understanding of time and closed universes, and the microscopic interpretation of observer-dependent horizons (e.g., in inflating spacetimes).
The conference will bring together a diverse group of researchers to discuss these important issues, with the goal of exchanging ideas and seeding scientific collaborations. Participants will include experts in string theory and classical General Relativity, researchers working in quantum information theory and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, and theorists interested in strongly coupled field theories and the AdS/CFT correspondence.
LIST OF INVITED SPEAKERS TO DATE
* Ashtekar, Abhay (Penn State)
* de Boer, Jan (UvA, Amsterdam)
* Denef, Frederik (Harvard)
* Hayden, Patrick (McGill Univ.)
* Larsen, Finn (Univ. Michigan)
* Maldacena, Juan (Princeton)
* Mathur, Samir (Ohio State Univ.)
* Minwalla, Shiraz (Tata Inst., India)
* Sen, Ashoke (Mehta Research Inst., India)
* Susskind, Leonard (Stanford)
* Takayanagi, Tadashi (IPMU, Japan)
* Yin, Xi (Harvard)
Additional speakers will be added closer to the conference date.
Details and Deadlines:
Registration deadline is: Apr 21, 2012
Registration includes: Daily refreshment breaks, lunches and two Special Events Dinners.
Registration Fee: $300; Fee Due: Apr 21, 2012
Late Registration Fee: $350
Registration is through the website at http://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/dbdetails?acro=bitbranes-c12
However, the site to pay the registration fee will not be available until February 21, 2012.
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1.8 Workshop on Gravitational Wave Bursts in Tobermory, Scotland, UK
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/24/workshop-on-gravitational-wave-burs…
Starting Mon, May 28, 2012 to Wed, May 30, 2012
Location: Tobermory, Scotland, UK
Additional Information: http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/igr/GWbursts2012
We are pleased to announce the second workshop on Gravitational Wave Bursts (GWbursts). The workshop will take place in Scotland during May 28-30, 2012. Following the spirit of the first GWbursts meeting (http://gwbursts.org/) in Chichen-Itza, Mexico in 2009, for this workshop we have selected the small fishing port of Tobermory, in the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland (http://www.tobermory.co.uk/) GWbursts workshops aim at bringing together in a remote and inspiring location lead scientists in astrophysics, data analysis and numerical relativity to discuss, analyze and explore innovative views on the Transient Gravitational Wave Universe.
The workshop will focus on:
• Astrophysics behind GWburst sources (e.g. stellar core collapse, gamma-ray bursts, cosmic strings, compact object mergers, isolated neutron stars) and their connection with electromagnetic and neutrino observations.
• Challenges to numerically model transient sources and the required accuracy of simulations.
• Data analysis methodologies to detect and characterize GWbursts.
• Gravitational wave antennas and their capabilities.
• Detection of unknown GWburst sources.
The workshop will be limited to 60 participants and will emphasize discussion over presentations. To be considered, please follow this link -- http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/igr/GWbursts2012 -- and submit an application. The deadline to apply is February 17, 2012. Decisions will be announced shortly after. More details can be found at http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/igr/GWbursts2012
Sincerely,
the Scientific Organizing Committee
• Laura Cadonati (U. Mass-Amherst)
• Ik Siong Heng (Glasgow)
• Christian Ott (Caltech)
• Pablo Laguna (Georgia Tech) - Chair
• Rosalba Perna (Colorado)
• Szabi Marka (Columbia)
• Deirdre Shoemaker (Georgia Tech)
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1.9 Gravitation and cosmology session at QQQ 2012 conference in Tallinn, Estonia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/24/gravitation-and-cosmology-session-a…
Starting Tue, Jul 10, 2012 to Sat, Jul 14, 2012
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Additional Information: http://www.agmp.eu/qqq/sess_pro.php?con=tln12&sess=GC
This is the first announcement of the topical session "Gravitation and cosmology" to be held on 10-14 July 2012 in Tallinn, Estonia in the framework of the conference "3Q: Algebra, Geometry, Information".
The topics of the session include but are not limited to:
- mathematical aspects of classical general relativity theory and its modifications,
- quantum properties of the gravitational interaction,
- cosmological models in modified theories of gravity and their observational consequences.
The session is dedicated to the centenary of Professor Harald Keres (1912-2010) who initiated studies in general relativity in Estonia. The Tallinn conference is a satellite meeting to MG13, the Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity, held on 1-7 July 2012 in Stockholm, conveniently just across the Baltic sea.
For more information and registration please visit the website http://www.agmp.eu/qqq/
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1.10 9th LISA Symposium in Paris
--------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/19/9th-lisa-symposium/
Starting Mon, May 21, 2012 to Fri, May 25, 2012
Location: Paris, France
Additional Information: http://lisasymposium2012.in2p3.fr/
The 9th LISA Symposium (2012) will take place at BnF - Paris (National Library of France close to APC Laboratory) on 21 - 25 May 2012.
Main topics: LISA, eLISA-NGO, future of space based gravitational wave astronomy, gravitational waves, astrophysics, cosmology
The earlier registration deadline is the 20 April 2012.
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1.11 Workshop on The Physics of De Sitter Spacetime in Hannover
----------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/18/workshop-on-the-physics-of-de-sitte…
Starting Tue, Sep 11, 2012 to Fri, Sep 14, 2012
Location: Hannover, Germany
Additional Information: http://hep.physics.uoc.gr/deSitter
De Sitter spacetime is the maximally symmetric solution of the field equations of General Relativity when a positive cosmological constant is present. It has been studied extensively for many decades from many viewpoints: as a classical geometry, as a possessor of a large symmetry group, as a background geometry which may or may not be stable under quantum corrections, as a paradigm for inflationary evolution, etc.
While these studies have led to important insights concerning the structure and physical implications of de Sitter, they have also led to some controversies most of which still persist.
The workshop on the "Physics of de Sitter Spacetime" will take place in the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Hannover, Germany from September 11, 2012 until September 14, 2012. The purpose of the workshop is to provide a venue for young outstanding researchers in the field to present their work and participate in extensive discussions.
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1.12 Recent Developments in Gravity (NEB 15), Crete (Greece)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/10/recent-developments-in-gravity-neb-…
Starting Wed, Jun 20, 2012 to Sat, Jun 23, 2012
Location: Chania, Crete, Greece
Additional Information: http://conferences.hsrgc.gr
This is the 15th biennial Hellenic conference conference "Recent Developments in Gravity (NEB 15)". The conference will take place at the Technological Educational Institute of Crete in Chania, Crete (Greece), from Wednesday, June 20th, to Saturday, June 23rd, 2012. The purpose of the conference will be to discuss the present status and latest developments in relativity, gravitation and cosmology. The program will consist of invited, keynote and contributed talks.
Invited Speakers: A. Blanchard, L. Blanchet, M. Dafermos, C. Kiefer, E. Kiritsis, S. Mukhanov, D. Shoemaker.
Keynote Speakers: N. Andersson, E. Berti, S. Fairhurst, B. Kleihaus, P. Laguna, N. Mavromatos, S. Odintsov, J. Sola, J. Zanelli.
Organizing Committee: T. Papakostas [CHAIR], D. Pliakis [Co-CHAIR], T. Apostolatos, K. Kokkotas, M. Plionis, M. Sakellariadou, E. Vagenas.
=================================================================
2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 Postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational-wave physics at Southampton
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/26/postdoctoral-position-in-theoretica…
Institution: Southampton, UK
Deadline: Wed, Feb 29, 2012
The Southampton General Relativity Group is offering a postdoctoral position in theoretical gravitational-wave physics, starting in the spring or Autumn of 2012. The post is for 2 years, with extension to 3 years possible subject to satisfactory performance. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake research within an STFC-funded project aimed at modelling the dynamics in strongly gravitating binaries, with applications to gravitational-wave astronomy.
The University of Southampton (UK) is home to a large research group in classical General Relativity. The Group comprises 6 staff members (Nils Andersson, Leor Barack, Carsten Gundlach, Ian Hawke, Ian Jones and James Vickers), 4 postdocs (Sarp Akcay, Sam Dolan, Wynn Ho and Adam Pound) and 10 research students. Research interests in the group include gravitational waves from black holes and neutron stars, black hole perturbation theory, gravitational self-force, numerical relativity, and the dynamics of large-scale superfluids.
In order to be considered for this post, the applicant must have a PhD or equivalent in Physics, Mathematics or a related discipline, and have a track record in at least one of the following research areas: physics of classical black holes, gravitational-wave theory, numerical relativity, gravitational radiation reaction.
A complete application should include (i) a Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications; (ii) a brief (<1 page) statement of research interests; and (iii) the names and addresses of three referees.
Please apply online through http://www.jobs.soton.ac.uk (use the top-right search bar quoting vacancy number 087112PJ, and proceed as instructed). Please also send a copy of your application to Leor Barack, leor[AT]soton.ac.uk
For informal inquiries contact Leor Barack.
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2.2 Two postdoctoral positions in theoretical cosmology at Portsmouth
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/17/two-postdoctoral-positions-in-theor…
Institution: Portsmouth, UK
Additional Information: http://www.port.ac.uk/vacancies/research/
The Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) intends to appoint two postdoctoral researchers in theoretical cosmology
The researcher will work on projects funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, in particular models for modified gravity and dark energy. The post is for two years, starting on 1st OCTOBER 2012. (Job reference: 10003838). The other post is for one year, starting as early as possible but no later than 1st OCTOBER 2012. Applications in all areas of cosmology are welcomed. (Job reference: 10003839)
A PhD degree and relevant research experience are required. The ICG consists of 12 academic staff, 14 postdoctoral researchers and 18 PhD students, and is a member of a number of survey projects including Euclid, BigBOSS and the UK Low Frequency Array (LOFAR:UK). The University of Portsmouth is a member of the South-East Physics Network (SEPnet), hosts the 1000-core SEPnet-ASTRO supercomputer (SCIAMA) and is part of the UK National Cosmology Supercomputer Consortium (COSMOS). More information is available at http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/
For informal enquiries please contact Kazuya Koyama (Kazuya.Koyama[AT]port.ac.uk), or by calling +44 (0)23 9284 5151
Applications (an application form, CV, research statement and names of up to 3 referees) should be sent by email to jobs[AT]port.ac.uk and copied to icg-admin[AT]port.ac.uk. Applicants should also arrange for up to 3 reference letters to be sent by email to icg-admin[AT]port.ac.uk, to arrive by the closing date, 27th January 2012. Late applications may be considered until the post has been filled.
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2.3 Two Tenure-Track Positions in Theoretical Physics at Sao Paulo
------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/11/two-permanent-positions-in-theoreti…
Institution: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Deadline: Mon, Feb 27, 2012
Additional Information: http://fma.if.usp.br/jobs/
We are inviting highly motivated and gifted candidates to apply for two new tenure-track positions at the Department of Mathematical Physics (DFMA), Sao Paulo University. The DFMA is the leading Theoretical Physics group in Brazil, and the University of Sao Paulo has been consistently ranked the top research institution in Latin America. The DFMA has a strong commitment to support research at the highest level, and these permanent positions are part of an ongoing process aimed at strengthening our group with new hirings over the next 3-5 years.
One position (IF-96/11) is for fundamental research in Quantum Field Theory, or in the field of Mathematical Physics (i.e., mathematically rigorous methods and results in Quantum Field Theory, Statistical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, General Relativity, Many-Body Theory, Dynamical Systems and Chaos, Random Matrices, Disordered Systems or Integrable Systems.)
The other position (IF-97/11) is open to researchers in all theoretical areas of Particle Physics, Cosmology, Gravitation and Quantum Many-Body Theory.
The positions are comparable to tenure track appointments in the US system, with an entry level as assistant professor. Candidates are expected to develop a vigorous research program for which strong local and federal support will be available through competitive grants. The candidates should also demonstrate promise for excellence in teaching and mentoring at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The deadline for applications is February 27th 2012. The selection process will require the presence of the candidate in Sao Paulo for a few days and the selection procedure can be made in English. For further information and instruction on how to apply, plase contact fismat[AT]fma.if.usp.br or visit the website http://fma.if.usp.br/jobs/
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2.4 EDECS-PhD position in Cosmology at LUTH (Paris)
---------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/05/edecs-phd-position-in-cosmology-at-…
Institution: Paris, France
Deadline: Thu, Mar 01, 2012
Applications are invited for a three-year PhD scholarship at the “Laboratoire Univers et Theorie” of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris funded by the ERC-Starting Grant “EDECS: Exploring Dark Energy through Cosmic Structures”, coordinated by P.S. Corasaniti. Candidates strongly motivated to pursue a rigorous research program in cosmology and with expertise in numerical scientific computing are preferred, but all outstanding candidates will be considered. The research will focus on cosmic structure formation in non-standard cosmological scenarios using numerical cosmological simulations. The successful candidate will develop and analyze large volume high-resolution simulations, and test model predictions against astrophysical data.
The appointment begins Fall 2012. Candidates should have a Master in Physics/Astronomy by the starting date. The deadline for applications is 1 March 2012. Candidates should send a CV, a list of publications (if any), a statement of research interests and arrange for two letters of recommendations to be sent to Pier Stefano Corasaniti via e-mail to EDECS.PHD2012[AT]obspm.fr. For further information contact EDECS.ERC[AT]obspm.fr.
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2.5 EDECS-Postdoc in Cosmology at LUTH (Paris)
----------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/05/edecs-postdoc-in-cosmology-at-luth-…
Institution: Paris, France
The cosmology group at the “Laboratoire Univers et Theorie (LUTH) of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris invites applications for one postdoctoral position in the framework of the ERC-Starting Grant “EDECS: Exploring Dark Energy through Cosmic Structures”, coordinated by P.S. Corasaniti. Candidates with a background in numerical cosmological simulations, theoretical modeling of non-linear structure formation and/or expertise in comparison between observations and simulations are strongly encouraged to apply. The cosmology group has an active research program on several topics in cosmology. A common effort is devoted to the realization of large volume very high-resolution numerical simulations of dark energy dominated scenarios. The group has access to several super-computing facilities (IDRIS, CCRT and TGCC) and benefits from national and international collaborations. Group members are also involved in a number of observational programs such as the XMM-XXL cluster sur
vey and the preparation to the EUCLID mission.
The appointment is for two years beginning Fall 2012. Candidates should have a PhD in Physics/Astronomy by the starting date. The deadline for applications is 1 February 2012. Candidates should send a CV including list of publications, a statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to Pier Stefano Corasaniti via e-mail to EDECS.POSTDOC2012[AT]obspm.fr. For further information contact EDECS.ERC[AT]obspm.fr.
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 Death of Franco Pacini, Florence
------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/28/death-of-franco-pacini/
Dear Colleagues,
I regret having to inform you that Franco Pacini died in Florence.
Just before the discovery of the first pulsar (Hewish et al. 1968), Franco Pacini published a paper in Nature (vol. 216, 1967, p.567) on a possible emission mechanism which could power the Crab nebula. He proposed a rapidly rotating neutron star with a strong magnetic field emitting dipole radiation. After the discovery of the first pulsar, Pacini (1968) and Gold (1968), independently, suggested that pulsars are rotating neutron stars.
Best regards
Ignazio Bombaci
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3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: article updates by Winicour and Adamo et al.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/26/living-reviews-in-relativity-articl…
Additional Information: http://relativity.livingreviews.org/
Living Reviews in Relativity has published major updates of the reviews on "Characteristic Evolution and Matching" by Jeffrey Winicour and on "Null Geodesic Congruences, Asymptotically-Flat Spacetimes and Their Physical Interpretation" by Timothy A. Adamo, Ezra T. Newman, and Carlos Kozameh in January 2012.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2012-2
Winicour, Jeffrey
"Characteristic Evolution and Matching"
ACCEPTED: 2012-01-04
PUBLISHED: 2012-01-25
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-2
ABSTRACT:
I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress in characteristic evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at simulating all aspects of the binary black hole problem inside an artificially constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of characteris
tic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in this direction is discussed.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2012-1
Newman, Ezra Ted and Kozameh, Carlos and Adamo, Timothy M.
"Null Geodesic Congruences, Asymptotically-Flat Spacetimes and Their Physical Interpretation"
ACCEPTED: 2012-01-16
PUBLISHED: 2012-01-24
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2012-1
ABSTRACT:
A priori, there is nothing very special about shear-free or asymptotically shear-free null geodesic congruences. Surprisingly, however, they turn out to possess a large number of fascinating geometric properties and to be closely related, in the context of general relativity, to a variety of physically significant effects. It is the purpose of this paper to try to fully develop these issues.
This work starts with a detailed exposition of the theory of shear-free and asymptotically shear-free null geodesic congruences, i.e., congruences with shear that vanishes at future conformal null infinity. A major portion of the exposition lies in the analysis of the space of regular shear-free and asymptotically shear-free null geodesic congruences. This analysis leads to the space of complex analytic curves in an auxiliary four-complex dimensional space, H-space. They in turn play a dominant role in the applications.
The applications center around the problem of extracting interior physical properties of an asymptotically-flat spacetime directly from the asymptotic gravitational (and Maxwell) field itself, in analogy with the determination of total charge by an integral over the Maxwell field at infinity or the identification of the interior mass (and its loss) by (Bondi's) integrals of the Weyl tensor, also at infinity.
More specifically, we will see that the asymptotically shear-free congruences lead us to an asymptotic definition of the center-of-mass and its equations of motion. This includes a kinematic meaning, in terms of the center-of-mass motion, for the Bondi three-momentum. In addition, we obtain insights into intrinsic spin and, in general, angular momentum, including an angular-momentum--conservation law with well-defined flux terms. When a Maxwell field is present, the asymptotically shear-free congruences allow us to determine/define at infinity a center-of-charge world line and intrinsic magnetic dipole moment.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.3 Gravitational Wave Tests of Alternative Theories of Gravity in the Advanced Detector Era at MSU
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/23/gravitational-wave-tests-of-alterna…
Gravitational wave tests of the theory of gravity have the potential to shed light on some of the most profound challenges facing physics today: from explanations of cosmic acceleration and dark matter to the reconciliation of gravity and quantum theory. Advanced LIGO and Virgo are expected to come on-line around 2015, and we expect to make routine gravitational wave detections with these instruments. To begin preparations for this era, the gravity group at Montana State University will be hosting a workshop on April 5th, 6th and 7th, 2013, so please mark your calendars! This workshop will be a continuation of that organized by UWM's Center for Gravitation and Cosmology.
The goal of this workshop is to plan and prepare for the era of advanced detectors. The workshop will consists of a few plenary overview talks, intended to set the stage for discussion about theoretical framework, data analysis techniques and implementation, to get the most out of the detections we expect this decade. The workshop will be structured relatively informally with focus sessions on gravitational wave bursts, compact binary systems, stochastic background, and continuous waves. A dedicated website will be set up later for this workshop with a registration page, but there will be no registration costs.
Simultaneously with the workshop, MSU's Gravity Group, in collaboration with MSU's Music Dept, MSU's Art and Film Dept and Princeton's Astrophysics Dept, will be putting together a one-week, outreach event entitled "Celebrating Einstein" on April 1st--6th, 2013. This event will consist of several public talks, an arts exhibit and two multimedia performances, featuring gravitational wave sounds and simulations by the numerical relativity community. All events are free and we encourage all to attend.
For more information: Nico Yunes (nyunes[AT]physics.montana.edu)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3.4 eLISA(NGO) - Revealing a hidden Universe: opening a new chapter of discovery
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/19/elisango-revealing-a-hidden-univers…
Additional Information: http://www.elisa-ngo.org/
GWNotes paper, Yellow Book, website online
The main references to eLISA(NGO) are available. It is the new ESA space-based gravitational wave detector, candidate for L1 mission in Cosmic Vision framework.
Mission name: "eLISA(NGO) - Revealing a hidden Universe: opening a new chapter of discovery"
- paper (science case): http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.3621
- website: http://www.elisa-ngo.org/
- Yellow Book (ESA document): https://lisa-light.aei.mpg.de/lisa-light/pub/ScienceWorkingTeam/YellowBook/…
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3.5 Call for nominations: fellows of the GRG Society
----------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/17/call-for-nominations-fellows-of-the…
The International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation has instituted Fellowships to recognize its outstanding members. In a steady state we expect the total number of Fellows to constitute approximately 10% of the membership. To reach this goal and to ensure that younger members of our Society are also elected in the initial rounds, the following procedure will be used:
i) Fellows will be elected once every three years, prior to the GRG conferences. For the first two rounds (GR19 and GR20), at least half of the number of Fellows elected in any one round should be of 45 years or less of age on the day the conference begins.
ii) The fellowship committee for GR20 will be asked to elect 10 fellows. Thereafter, the committees will elect approximately 1.5% of the members per 3-year cycle. The precise number for each round will be established at the prior GR meeting by the Executive Committee of the Society.
The primary criterion for election is excellence in research, especially the impact of candidate’s work on the development of our field. The candidate will be generally expected to have made additional contributions to the field, for example through service, and/or outreach, and/or books and monographs, etc. In exceptional cases such criteria could constitute the primary basis of nomination provided these activities have had influence on a significant portion of our community, not just the home institution of the candidate.
Nominations are due by December 31st, 2012. Any member of the Society can make nominations but self-nominations will not be considered. The nomination packet will consist of:
i) A letter summarizing the basis for nomination;
ii) An up-to-date CV and publication list of the nominee;
iii) 1 to 3 supporting letters from members of the Society, and,
iv) A proposed citation. Once made, the nomination will remain active for two additional rounds. Further details can be found at http://www.isgrg.org/fellowrules.php
Electronic nominations in the form of emailed PDF files are strongly preferred. The nomination PDF files should be sent to the Chair of the Fellowship committee, Clifford Will (cmw[AT]wuphys.wustl.edu)
If an electronic nomination is not possible, a single paper copy of the nomination should be mailed or faxed to Clifford Will at
Department of Physics, Campus Box 1105
Washington University
1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis MO 63130 USA
Fax: 1-314-935-9200
The elected Fellows will be inducted during the Business Meeting of the Society at GR 20 in Warsaw, 8 – 13 July, 2013.
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3.6 2012 Awards for Essays on Gravitation
-----------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2012/01/11/2012-awards-for-essays-on-gravitati…
Additional Information: http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org
In 2012 for our sixty-third competition, the Trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow.
(1) The Trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation will make these Awards on May 15, 2012 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or less (excluding abstracts, diagrams, references and minimal equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects.
(2) The First Award will be $4000.00
The Second Award will be 1250.00
The Third Award will be 1000.00
The Fourth Award will be 750.00
The Fifth Award will be 500.00
(3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2012. Early submission is desirable. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission.
(4) Title pages should include essay title; authors’ names, complete mailing and e-mail addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: “Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2012 Awards for Essays on Gravitation.” Pages should be numbered.
(5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews will be provided.
(6) Please check the list of winners to be posted on our website: http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2012. We will attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification.
(7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th.
Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President (grideoutjr[AT]aol.com)
Gravity Research Foundation
PO BOX 81389
Welleesley Hills MA 02481-0004
USA
Recent First Award Winners:
2011 – Ivan Agullo, Penn State and Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 – Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2009 – Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
2008 – T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India
2007 – S. Carlip, University of California at Davis
2006 – Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara and Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia
2005 - John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, King’s College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
2004 - Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York
2003 - Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University
2002 - Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara and Stanford University, Stanford, California
2001 - Csaba Csaki and Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab and Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley
2000 - Arthur Lue and Erick J. Weinberg, Columbia University, New York
1999 - John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, University of Oxford and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A and M University
1998 - Viqar Husain, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
1997 - Robert Myers, McGill University, Quebec
1
0

02 Jan '12
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Table of Contents
#################################################################
1. Conferences
1.1 15th Capra Meeting in Maryland
1.2 Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal: ERE2012 (first announcement)
1.3 2nd Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012
1.4 BritGrav 12 (first announcement)
1.5 4th International Summer School on Astroparticle Physics (Nijmegen12)
1.6 15th East Coast Gravity Meeting and Josh Goldberg Fest at Syracuse
1.7 X Edition of the SIGRAG School: Astrophysical Black Holes
2. Jobs
2.1 Postdoctoral position in theoretical gravity at University of Tartu
2.2 Max Planck Partner Group postdoctoral positions at IISER-TVM (India)
2.3 Postdoctoral positions in gravitational waves/numerical relativity at UIB/Palma
2.4 Postdoctoral position in gravitational waves at NASA Goddard and University of Maryland
3. News
3.1 New Book by Anja Skaar Jacobsen: "Leon Rosenfeld"
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 15th Capra Meeting in Maryland
----------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/26/15th-capra-meeting-on-radiation-rea…
Starting Mon, Jun 11, 2012 to Fri, Jun 15, 2012
Location: College Park, MD, USA
Additional Information: http://www.cscamm.umd.edu/programs/capra12/
We are pleased to announce that the 2012 Capra Meeting on Radiation Reaction will be held in the Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling (CSCAMM) at the University of Maryland, College Park, from June 11 to June 15, 2012.
Following the Capra tradition, the meeting will focus primarily on aspects of the self-force in general relativity, although broader topics related to gravitational-wave physics will also be discussed. More information and a registration form can be found on the conference website:
http://www.cscamm.umd.edu/programs/capra12/
For full consideration, applications to participate must be submitted by April 20, 2012.
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1.2 Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal: ERE2012 (first announcement)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/21/spanish-relativity-meeting-in-portu…
Starting Mon, Sep 03, 2012 to Fri, Sep 07, 2012
Location: Guimarães, Portugal
Additional Information: http://w3.math.uminho.pt/~ERE2012
We are pleased to announce the "Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal (ERE2012)", September 3-7, 2012, at the University of Minho, in Guimarães (world heritage site and European capital of culture in 2012). Information about the program and registration will be included on a second announcement and will appear at http://w3.math.uminho.pt/~ERE2012
The Local Organizing Committee,
Alfonso Garcia-Parrado
Estelita Vaz
Filipe Mena
Filipe Moura
Irene Brito
Piedade Machado Ramos
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1.3 2nd Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012
------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/21/2nd-iberian-gravitational-wave-meet…
Starting Wed, Feb 15, 2012 to Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Additional Information: http://www.ice.csic.es/research/IGWMweb/
Dear Colleagues,
this is the official announcement of the 2nd Iberian Gravitational Wave Meeting (IGWM2) that is organized by the Gravitational Wave Astronomy - LISA Group of the Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (CSIC-IEEC) in Barcelona.
* Aim: To bring together researchers with interest in the development of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, including researchers from related areas of Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Fundamental Physics. The style of the meeting will be informal and we expect to have significant time for discussions.
* Website: http://www.ice.csic.es/research/IGWMweb/index.html
Here you will find details on the different aspects of the meeting including updates of the program.
* Dates: From February 15th to 17th, 2012
* Venue: Residencia de Investigadores of the National Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Barcelona, near Las Ramblas.
* Accommodation: We recommend you to use the Residencia de Investigadores:
http://www.resa.es/eng/Residences/Investigadors
Please, when booking let them know you are attending the meeting. For other accommodation options check the meeting website.
* Registration: There is no registration fee, but for organizational purposes we kindly ask you to register using the Meeting website. If you are interested in giving a talk, please provide title and abstract in the registration form.
* Program: We have a list of plenary speakers and we will elaborate soon a full program with contributed talks.
We hope to see you in Barcelona next year. We wish you a nice Christmas break and a happy and fruitful new year 2012!
The organizing committee
Ivan Lloro
Alberto Lobo
Miquel Nofrarias
Carlos F. Sopuerta
Ulrich Sperhake
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1.4 BritGrav 12 (first announcement)
------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/16/britgrav-12-first-announcement/
Starting Tue, Apr 03, 2012 to Wed, Apr 04, 2012
Location: Southampton, UK
Additional Information: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~cjg/britgrav12
The 12th BritGrav (British Gravity) Meeting will be held on 3/4 April 2012 in the School of Mathematics, University of Southampton. The programme begins with coffee at 10.30 on Tuesday, with the first talk at 11, and ends at 4.30 on Wednesday. The meeting covers all areas of classical and quantum gravity including astrophysics, cosmology and experiments, and is intended to further collaborations and allow young researchers to showcase their work.
There is no registration fee, and participants are responsible for their own accommodation, meals and travel. All PhD students and postdocs will be able to give a talk, others if time allows.
If you plan to participate, please email Carsten Gundlach, cjg[AT]soton.ac.uk. If you want to give a talk, please send a title and abstract (which can be amended later). More information will be posted on http://www.soton.ac.uk/~cjg/britgrav12 .
A limited amount of funding will be available from the Gravitational Physics Group of the Institute of Physics to assist with travel and accommodation costs for research students.
Carsten Gundlach and Nils Andersson (University of Southampton)
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1.5 4th International Summer School on Astroparticle Physics (Nijmegen12)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/15/4th-international-summer-school-on-…
Starting Wed, Jul 25, 2012 to Fri, Aug 03, 2012
Location: Kleve, Germany
Additional Information: http://nijmegen12.hef.ru.nl/
The 4th International Summer School on Astroparticle Physics (NIJMEGEN12) is intended for graduate students and post-docs. The school provides a fairly comprehensive coverage of modern theoretical and observational developments in astroparticle physics. Topics include: Cosmology, Cosmic Microwave Background, Gravitational Waves, Neutrinos, High Energy Cosmic Rays, Gamma Rays, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy. Lectures are given in the morning while the afternoons are reserved for a special training project aimed at acquiring skills in presenting, defending, and reviewing modern research proposals in astroparticle physics. The NIJMEGEN12 Summer School will take place at Schloss Gnadenthal, Gnadenthal 8, 47533 Kleve, Germany (http://www.gnadenthal.de)
List of lecturers
Matthias Bartelmann (University of Heidelberg), Cosmology
Antonella Castellina (University Torino/INFN), Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays
Kenneth Ganga (APC, Paris), Cosmic Microwave Background
Karl Kosack, (CEA, Saclay), High-Energy Gamma Rays
Manfred Lindner (MPI, Heidelberg), Neutrino Properties
Nergis Mavalvala, (MIT, Cambridge), Gravitational Wave Detection
Ilya Mandel (University of Birmingham), Gravitational Wave Astrophysics
Julie McEnery (NASA GSFC), High-Energy Gamma Rays
Teresa Montaruli, (University of Geneva), High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos
Georg Raffelt (MPI, Munich), Neutrinos in Astrophysics
Subir Sarkar (Oxford University), Dark Matter
Roberta Sparvoli (University of Rome), High-Energy Cosmic Rays
Evening speakers
Frank Linde (Nikhef, Amsterdam), LHC
Harry Collins (Cardiff University), Gravity's Shadow
Registration
The deadline for early registration is April 1st, 2012 (890.- EUR fee). Registration closes June 1st, 2012 (990.- EUR fee). See the website for more details.
Organizing Committee
Jörg R. Hörandel, Department of Astrophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen
Piet J. Mulders, VU University, Amsterdam
Marieke Postma, Nikhef, Amsterdam
Elena Maria Rossi, Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden
Ad M. van den Berg (chair), Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut, University of Groningen
Anna Watts, API/GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam
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1.6 15th East Coast Gravity Meeting and Josh Goldberg Fest at Syracuse
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/05/15th-east-coast-gravity-meeting-and…
Starting Fri, Apr 20, 2012 to Sun, Apr 22, 2012
Location: Syracuse, NY, USA
Additional Information: http://www.phy.syr.edu/watson/ecg
The 15th East Coast Gravity Meeting (ECG) will be held at Syracuse University, Saturday April 21th and Sunday April 22th, 2012. The meeting is meant to be an informal gathering of researchers working in all fields relating to gravity and cosmology. In addition, this year's meeting will have an additional day of festivities (Friday April 20th) to honor the accomplishments of Josh Goldberg. Josh has made many significant contributions to furthering our knowledge of gravity, some of which were recently featured in a special issue General Relativity and Gravitation. Friday will consist of a half day of invited talks, followed by an evening dinner. ECGM participants are encouraged to attend.
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1.7 X Edition of the SIGRAG School: Astrophysical Black Holes
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/03/x-edition-of-the-sigrag-school-astr…
Starting Mon, May 21, 2012 to Sat, May 26, 2012
Location: Como, Italy
Additional Information: http://www.centrovolta.it/sigrav2012/
X Edition of the Sigrav Graduate School in Contemporary Relativity and Gravitational Physics
ASTROPHYSICAL BLACK HOLES
Villa Olmo, May 21-26 May, 2012
The Schools are directed to Ph.D. students and young Post-Docs in Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics who are interested in widening their knowledge in the fields of Physical Cosmology, Relativistic Astrophysics, General Relativity, Experimental Gravity and the Modern Quantum Theories of Gravitation. The Schools wish to introduce students to current problems, highlighting their importance and potential scientific impact. Lecturers will report on theoretical, observational and experimental aspects of the research, reviewing latest achievements in the field.
PROGRAM of the X Edition
Black holes, weighting from few tens up to few billions solar masses, represent one of the most fascinating objects in modern physics and astrophysics. Their presence can be traced in X-ray binaries, in the center of the Milky Way and of nearby galaxies, and back to early cosmic times, as the power house of luminous quasars. Black holes are a crucial testbed for GR, a key ingredient in galaxy cosmic evolution, and can shine as the loudest sirens in the new field of gravitational wave astronomy. The school will bring together some of the world leading experts to provide a focused overview on astrophysical black holes, both as end-point of stellar evolution and as cosmic probes of the high redshift Universe.
COURSES
- BLACK HOLES IN ASTROPHYSICS: THEORY: Luciano Rezzolla (Germany)
- ACCRETION AND EJECTION THEORY: Andrew King (UK)
- GALACTIC BLACK HOLES: Rob Fender (UK)
- FORMATION AND COSMIC EVOLUTION OF MASSIVE BLACK HOLES: Andrea Merloni (Germany)
- SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES AND NUCLEAR DYNAMICS: David Merritt (USA)
- THE GALACTIC CENTRE: Reinhard Genzel (Germany)
- ANALYTICAL RELATIVITY OF BLACK HOLES: Thibault Damour and Alessandro Nagar (France)
Scientific and Organizing Committee: Monica Colpi (Universita' Bicocca, Milano), Vittorio Gorini (Insubria, Como), Francesco Haardt (Insubria, Como), Ugo Moschella (Insubria, Como), Aldo Treves (Insubria, Como)
SIGRAV Council: Massimo Bassan, Carlo Bradaschia, Salvatore Capozziello, Mauro Francaviglia, Luca Lusanna, Sabino Matarrese, Augusto Sagnotti, Luigi Stella, Gaetano Vilasi
There will be room for short communications by the participants. Those who want to submit a communication proposal should send a short abstract to grschool[AT]centrovolta.it Proponents will be informed about acceptance of their contribution in due time. Preparatory and follow-up lectures will be delivered at the University of Insubria.
REGISTRATION
Participants will be accommodated in a room rental near Villa Olmo and will be requested to pay an inclusive fee of EURO 700,00 covering accommodation (in rooms to be shared with other participants), breakfasts, coffee breaks and lunches for the duration of the school. Alternatively, participants may arrange their own accommodation and are requested to pay a registration fee of EURO 350,00, also covering coffee breaks and lunches. It is possible to have a hotel reservation support by downloading the proper accommodation form. Accommodation is not guaranteed after April 23rd 2012.
Some support to cover local expenses may be available; those who need support should mention it in their registration and send a short curriculum vitae and a summary of current research (maximum two pages A4). Please note that no support to cover travel expenses will be available.
For information also contact directly the Organizing Secretariat at the Centro A. Volta:
grschool[AT]centrovolta.it or chiara.stefanetti[AT]centrovolta.it, tel. +39 031 579805, fax +39 031 573395
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2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 Postdoctoral position in theoretical gravity at University of Tartu
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/31/postdoctoral-position-in-theoretica…
Institution: Tartu, Estonia
Deadline: Sat, Mar 10, 2012
Additional Information: http://hexagon.fi.tartu.ee/
Estonian Science Foundation (ESF) runs two programs offering postdoc grants at Estonian research institutions: MOBILITAS (Researcher Mobility Programme), and ERMOS (Estonian Research Mobility Scheme), financed with a support of FP7 Marie Curie COFUND "People".
The gravitation theory group at the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Estonia is looking for a suitable postdoc candidate to apply for one of these grants, who would be able to contribute to or complement the ongoing research of the group.
Key points
General research area: theoretical aspects of gravity;
Preferred topics: extensions of Einstein's general relativity (e.g. scalar-tensor gravity), theoretical cosmology beyond the concordance model (especially dark energy).
Duration of the grant: 2 or 3 years.
Amount of the grant: up to 25,600 EUR per year for salary (pre-tax), 3,200 EUR per year for research costs, and a one-time relocation allowance to move in to Estonia.
Eligibility: The postdoctoral research grant can be applied for by a person who has been awarded a doctoral degree or an equivalent qualification not earlier than five years before the start of the grant. (In case that, after obtaining the degree, the applicant was on parental leave or in compulsory military service, the period of qualification is extended by the period of the parental leave or compulsory military service.)
Application
NB! The postdoc application to ESF is submitted together by the applicant and the host institution.
Therefore interested candidates are first invited to send a CV, a list of publications, a brief research proposal, and a letter of recommendation to Dr. Piret Kuusk (piret[AT]fi.tartu.ee), head of the gravitation theory group.
The next deadline for applications is
- 25 January 2012 for ERMOS,
- probably late March 2012 for MOBILITAS.
(Due to technical and administrative reasons the application process to ESF has to begin a week or two before the deadline.)
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2.2 Max Planck Partner Group postdoctoral positions at IISER-TVM (India)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/23/max-planck-partner-group-post-docto…
Institution: Trivandrum, India
Deadline: Mon, Jan 16, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.iisertvm.ac.in/~shanki/group.html
Max Planck Partner Group on Cosmology and Gravity, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram intends to appoint two postdoctoral positions in the areas of early-universe cosmology, classical and quantum gravity. A Ph.D. degree and relevant research experience are required for these posts. The positions can start as early as 1st March 2012 and before 1st August 2012.
Both these posts are funded under the Max Planck Partner group on cosmology. Currently, the group has 2 post-doctorate fellows and 2 Ph.D. students. Please see the URL http://www.iisertvm.ac.in/~shanki/group.html about the group and its activities. The group strongly interacts with the Max Planck Partner Group on Gravitational waves at IISER-TVM. The fellows of this Partner Group will have the opportunity to visit and interact with members of Albert Einstein Institute, Golm.
The positions are available for a period of up to two years. Informal enquiries can be made to S. Shankaranarayanan (shanki[AT]iisertvm.ac.in).
Salary: Rs. 2,64,000 - Rs. 2,88,000 per annum
Deadline: 16 January 2012
To apply please send CV, research statement and have at least two letters of reference sent by email to: shanki[AT]iisertvm.ac.in with the subject "Application for MP-PG positions - Candidate name".
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2.3 Postdoctoral positions in gravitational waves/numerical relativity at UIB/Palma
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/21/postdoctoral-positions-in-gravitati…
Institution: Palma, Spain
Deadline: Sun, Jan 15, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.uib.es/depart/dfs/GRG
Postdoctoral Research Positions in the Gravitational Physics Group at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
The UIB Gravitational Physics Group offers one postdoctoral position:
* A) a 1.5-year postdoctoral research associate position with the possibility of extension depending on the availability of funding.
and welcomes applications to two government-funded programs in coordination with our group:
* B) a 3 years postdoctoral position in the "Juan de la Cierva" program, (PhD required before (estimated) September 30, 2012, but not earlier than in the last 3 years)
* C) a 5 year tenure track research position in the "Ramón y Cajal" program. (Persons who have obtained their PhD within the last 10 years and have a strong publication record)
Applications are welcome in all areas of gravitational physics, but preference will be given to the areas of gravitational wave data analysis, numerical relativity and astrophysical relativity.
The group consists of faculty members Carles Bona, Jaume Carot, Sascha Husa, Joan Masso and Alicia Sintes and postdoctoral research fellows Jordi Burguet Castell, Ryuichi Fujita, Denis Pollney, Milton Ruiz, as well as several graduate students.
The UIB group is a member of the LIGO and GEO collaborations, and covers a wide range of research interests in numerical relativity, gravitational wave data analysis, mathematical relativity and computational methods.
Application for position (A):
===================
Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications, brief description of research interests and achievements, and arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent to gravity.uib.contact[AT]gmail.com -- before January 16.
The expected starting date is June 2012, but earlier start dates can be arranged with the applicant.
Application for positions (B) and (C):
==========================
Applications will have to be sent to the Spanish government, with an estimated deadline of February 15, 2012. Interested candidates should contact us informally before the application process starts. For position (B) only two applications can be supported.
Please contact Alicia Sintes (alicia.sintes[AT]uib.es) and Sascha Husa (sascha.husa[AT]uib.es) or any other group member if you have any questions.
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2.4 Postdoctoral position in gravitational waves at NASA Goddard and University of Maryland
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/11/postdoctoral-position-in-gravitatio…
Institution: College Park, MD, USA
Deadline: Thu, Jan 05, 2012
The Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Maryland Gravitational Wave Theory Group at the University of Maryland-College Park (UMCP) are seeking applications for a joint postdoctoral position in gravitational waves, possibly opening in the Fall of 2012. The position is for one year with the possibility of renewal for additional years.
This position supports a joint project, led by John Baker (GSFC), and Alessandra Buonanno (UMCP), to study the performance of future space-based gravitational-wave instruments in observing binary black-hole mergers. Competitive applicants should have background in source modeling, instrument modeling and/or data analysis.
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, list of publications, and a description of past research and future research plans, and should arrange for at least three letters of recommendation to be sent to gwt-postdocs[AT]physics.umd.edu
It is requested that all application materials be sent as pdf files or as plain text. Please merge all application materials (other than letters of recommendation) into one pdf file if at all possible.
The deadline for receipt of all application materials is January 5, 2012. Maryland is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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3. News
=================================================================
3.1 New Book by Anja Skaar Jacobsen: "Leon Rosenfeld"
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/12/12/new-book-by-anja-skaar-jacobsen-leo…
Additional Information: http://www.worldscibooks.com/histsci/7776.html
LEON ROSENFELD
Physics, Philosophy, and Politics in the Twentieth Century
by Anja Skaar Jacobsen (Niels Bohr Archive, Denmark)
Leon Rosenfeld (1904-1974) was a remarkable, many-sided physicist of exceptional erudition. He was at the centre of modern physics and was well-known as Niels Bohr's close collaborator and spokesman. He also reflected deeply on the history and philosophy of science and its social role from a leftist perspective. His biography illuminates the development, popularization, and reception of quantum physics and its interpretation in addition to the development of the political Left. The book draws extensively from previously untapped, unpublished sources in more than five languages.
This book is for students and professionals studying the history of science.
360pp (approx.)
Publication date: March 2012
ISBN: 978-981-4307-81-9
1
0

02 Dec '11
#################################################################
Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm
1.2 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics
1.3 16th Paris Cosmology Colloquium "The New Standard Model of the Universe: Lambda Warm Dark Matter. Theory and Observations"
1.4 First Dutch Gravitational Wave Meeting in Amsterdam
1.5 Chalonge School Meudon Workshop 2012 "Warm Dark Matter Galaxy Formation in Agreement with Observations"
1.6 2nd Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012 in Barcelona
2. Jobs
2.1 Postdoctoral positions at the Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics at UW-Milwaukee
2.2 Full-time lecturer in Physics at UMass Dartmouth
2.3 Ph.D. Fellowships in Gravitational-Wave Science at the University of Birmingham
2.4 Postdoctoral positions in black-hole/neutron-star research at Amsterdam
2.5 Postdoctoral position at Beijing Normal University in Quantum Gravity and Quantum Cosmology
2.6 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theoretical Gravitational Physics at the University of Nottingham
2.7 Postdoctoral Position in Numerical Relativity at Jena
2.8 Postdoctoral Position in Computational and Theoretical Black Hole Astrophysics at Georgia Tech
2.9 PhD Position in Relativity at Jena
2.10 Postdoctoral positions in astrophysics at SISSA
2.11 International Relativistic Astrophysics Ph.D. Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Program
2.12 Postdoctoral position in general relativity/quantum gravity at the University of New Brunswick
2.13 Postdoctoral position in black-hole physics at the University of Aveiro
3. News
3.1 New book on Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13) in Stockholm
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/30/thirteenth-marcel-grossmann-meeting…
Starting Sun, Jul 01, 2012 to Sat, Jul 07, 2012
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Additional Information: http://www.icra.it/mg/mg13
MG13 will take place at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden on July 1-7, 2012. Preregistration will take place Sunday, July 1, and the meeting will officially open Monday morning, July 2, when the Marcel Grossmann prizes will be awarded. During the six day conference a wide variety of topics will be discussed in the morning plenary sessions beginning with mathematical topics on Monday, quantum aspects of gravity on Tuesday, precision tests of general relativity on Wednesday, relativistic astrophysics on Thursday, cosmology and astroparticle physics on Friday and the latest scientific news and the history of physics Saturday. There will be five plenary lectures each morning and up to twenty parallel sessions in the four weekday afternoons excluding Wednesday, which is left free for a trip and the evening conference banquet. The plenary lectures will be held in the Aula Magna lecture hall and the parallel sessions at the AlbaNova University Center, both easily reachable b
y public transportation from the city center.
The local organizing committee is chaired by Prof. Kjell Rosquist. Together with the chairs of the International Organizing Committee, Prof. Remo Ruffini, and the International Coordinating Committee, Prof. Robert Jantzen, the first actions will be to announce a first draft of the plenary and parallel session programs including some chairpersons who have already volunteered, with others to be added later.
Major international sponsors, in addition to the Swedish universities, are IUPAP, ICRA and ICRANet, ICTP, TWAS, and all the universities and research centers participating in the joint Ph.D. program in relativistic Astrophysics: the IRAP PhD Erasmus Mundus program.
Early registration at 350€ will be available online December 15th 2011 through June 15th 2012, after which the registration fee will be 400€. The student fee is 150€.
New members have been added to the International Committees and the final version of the poster is now available for download at the meeting website.
Since 1975, the Marcel Grossmann Meetings (on Recent Developments in Theoretical and Experimental General Relativity, Gravitation, and Relativistic Field Theories) have been organized in order to provide opportunities for discussing recent advances in gravitation, general relativity and relativistic field theories, emphasizing mathematical foundations, physical predictions and experimental tests. The objective of these meetings is to elicit exchange among scientists that may deepen our understanding of spacetime structures as well as to review the status of ongoing experiments aimed at testing Einstein's theory of gravitation either from the ground or from space.
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1.2 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/29/14th-canadian-conference-on-general…
Starting Mon, Jul 09, 2012 to Thu, Jul 12, 2012
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Additional Information: http://www.ccgrra14.ca
This is the first announcement for the the 14th Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics which will take place July 9-12, 2012 in St. John's, Newfoundland. CCGRRA14 is the latest in a biennial series of meetings that bring together Canadian and international relativists for scientific discussion and exchange. These meetings are broadly based, covering the wide range of research done in Canada including mathematical and numerical relativity, quantum gravity, string-theoretic approaches to gravity, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology.
Invited lectures will be given by: Patrick Brady (U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Robert Brandenberger (McGill U.), Sergio Dain (U. Nacional de Cordoba), Andrew Frey (U. of Winnipeg), Valeri Frolov (U. of Alberta), Veronika Hubeny (Durham U.), Hari Kunduri (Memorial U.), Robert Mann (U of Waterloo), Harald Pfeiffer (U. of Toronto), Eric Poisson (U. of Guelph) and Sanjeev Seahra (U. New Brunswick, Fredericton). In addition to these plenary lectures, time will be allotted in the afternoons for contributed talks from members of the national and international community. Post-docs and grad students are especially encouraged to contribute talks.
The meeting will begin with an opening reception on Monday, July 9th. Talks will happen from Tuesday morning (the 10th) until Thursday evening (the 12th), including a public lecture on Tuesday night. On Wednesday afternoon there will be an organized whale-watching trip to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve followed by a banquet on the beach.
For more information please see the website http://www.ccgrra14.ca or contact ccgrra14[AT]gmail.com. Registration will open in January.
Organizing Committee: Ivan Booth (ibooth[AT]mun.ca), Hari Kunduri (hkkunduri[AT]mun.ca), Ben Tippett (bktippett[AT]mun.ca).
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1.3 16th Paris Cosmology Colloquium "The New Standard Model of the Universe: Lambda Warm Dark Matter. Theory and Observations"
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/21/ecole-internationale-dastrophysique…
Starting Wed, Jul 25, 2012 to Fri, Jul 27, 2012
Location: Paris, France
Additional Information: http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2012.html
Ecole Internationale d'Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
Chalonge School 16th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2012 "The New Standard Model of the Universe: Lambda Warm Dark Matter. Theory and Observations"
1. SUMMARY
Recently, Warm (keV scale) Dark Matter emerged impressively over CDM (Cold Dark Matter) as the leading Dark Matter candidate. Astronomical evidence that Cold Dark Matter (LambdaCDM) and its proposed tailored cures do not work at small scales is staggering. LambdaWDM solves naturally the problems of LambdaCDM and agrees remarkably well with the observations at small as well as large and cosmological scales. LambdaWDM numerical simulations naturally agree with observations at all scales, in contrast to LambdaCDM simulations which only agree at large scales. In the context of this new Dark Matter situation, which implies novelties in the astrophysical, cosmological and keV particle physics context, this 16th Paris Colloquium 2012 is devoted to the LambdaWDM Standard Model of the Universe. In summary, the aim of the meeting is to put together real data: cosmological, astrophysical, particle, nuclear physics data, and hard theory predictive approach connected to them in the framew
ork of the Lambda WDM Standard Model of the Universe.
2. THIS COLLOQUIUM
This Colloquium is within the astrofundamental physics spirit of the Chalonge School, focalised on recent observational and theoretical progress in the CMB, dark matter, dark energy, structure formation, and the theory of the early universe inflation with predictive power in the context of the LambdaWDM Standard Model of the Universe. The Colloquium addresses as well the theory and experimental search for the WDM particle physics candidates (keV sterile neutrinos). Astrophysical constraints including Lyman alpha bounds put the sterile neutrino mass m in the range 1< m < 13 keV. WDM predictions for EUCLID and PLANCK start to to be available. MARE and an adapted KATRIN experiment could detect a keV sterile neutrino. It will be a fantastic discovery to detect dark matter in a beta decay. A formidable WDM work to perform is ahead of us.
3. TOPICS
Observational and theoretical progress on the nature of dark matter: keV scale warm dark matter. Cored density profiles in agreement with observations. Large and small scale structure formation in agreement with observations at large scales and small (galactic) scales. Warm (keV scale) dark matter from theory and observations. Warm (keV scale) dark matter N-body simulations in agreement with observations. Neutrinos in astrophysics and cosmology. The new serious dark matter candidate: Sterile neutrinos at the keV scale.Neutrinos mass bounds from cosmological data and from high precision beta decay experiments. Dark energy: cosmological constant: the quantum energy of the cosmological vacuum. The analysis of the CMB+LSS+SN data with the effective (Ginsburg-Landau) effective theory of inflation: New Inflation (double well inflaton potential) strongly favored by the CMB + LSS + SN data. The presence of the lower bound for the primordial gravitons (non vanishing tensor to scalar r
atio r) with the present CMB+LSS+SN data. CMB news and polarization. Forecasts and Planck results, and Other Topics.
FORMAT and EXHIBITION
Sessions last for three days in the beautiful Parisian campus of Observatoire de Paris (built on orders from Colbert and to plans by Claude Perrault from 1667 to 1672). All sessions take place at the Salle Cassini (Cassini Hall) in the historic Perrault building ("Bâtiment Perrault") of Observatoire de Paris HQ, just upstairs "Salle du Conseil" (Council Room). All Coffee-Tea breaks take place at the "Salle du Conseil" under the portraits of Laplace, Le Verrier, Lalande, Arago, Delambre and Louis XIV. The Registration desk and the Secretariat of the Colloquium take place at the "Grande Galerie" (Great Gallery) just aside facing Salle du Conseil
An exhibition at the "Grand Galerie" (Great Gallery) and "Salle Cassini" (Cassini Hall) will retrace the 21 years of activity of the Chalonge School and "the Golden Days" in "Astrofundamental Physics": The Construction of the Standard Model Of the Universe. The World High Altitude Observatories Network: World Cultural and Scientific Heritage. All Lectures are followed by a discussion. All participants are invited to take part in the discussions. The Meeting is open to all scientists interested in the subject.
Information about this Colloquium, participation information and background information are displayed at the Chalonge School web site: http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2012.html
Information on the previous Paris Cosmology Colloquia and of the school events (lecturers, lists of participants, lecture pdf files and photos during the Colloquia) are available at http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr
Early registration is strongly encouraged.
With compliments and kind regards,
Chalonge.Ecole[AT]obspm.fr
http://chalonge.obspm.fr
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1.4 First Dutch Gravitational Wave Meeting in Amsterdam
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/17/first-dutch-gravitational-wave-meet…
Starting Thu, Jan 19, 2012 to Thu, Jan 19, 2012
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Additional Information: http://indico.astro.ru.nl//conferenceDisplay.py?confId=6
Gravitational wave research in the Netherlands is rapidly taking shape and is becoming increasingly diverse. In order to bring together astronomers and physicists interested in gravitational wave science and to inform each other of the current status of the various projects we organize the first Dutch National GW Meeting, to be held on Thursday January 19, 2012 at Nikhef in Amsterdam.
The day will start with a keynote lecture by Prof. Bangalore Sathyaprakash from Cardiff University, after which there will be overview talks on Pulsar Timing Arrays, Advanced Virgo/LIGO, and the new ELISA mission, as well as contributed talks.
The meeting is open to all interested researchers, also from outside the Netherlands.
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1.5 Chalonge School Meudon Workshop 2012 "Warm Dark Matter Galaxy Formation in Agreement with Observations"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/07/chalonge-school-meudon-workshop-201…
Starting Wed, Jun 06, 2012 to Fri, Jun 08, 2012
Location: Meudon, France
Additional Information: http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/Cias_Meudon2012.html
Ecole Internationale d'Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
1. Summary: A Turning Point operated recently in the Dark Matter research: Warm Dark Matter (WDM) emerged impressively over Cold Dark Matter (CDM) as the leading Dark Matter candidate. WDM solves naturally the problems of CDM and agrees with the observations at small as well as large and cosmological scales. This workshop addresses WDM putting together astrophysical, cosmological and particle WDM, astronominal observations, theory and WDM numerical simulations which naturally reproduce the observations at all the scales. The Workshop addresses as well the experimental search for the WDM particle candidates (keV sterile neutrinos).
2. The New Dark Matter Situation Today: Warm Dark Matter (WDM) research is progressing fast, the subject is new and WDM essentially works, naturally reproducing the astronomical observations over all scales: small (galactic) and large (cosmological) scales (LambdaWDM). Astronomical evidence that Cold Dark Matter (LambdaCDM) and its proposed tailored cures do not work at small scales is staggering. Astrophysical constraints including Lyman alpha bounds put the sterile neutrino mass m in the range 1< m <13 keV. WDM predictions for EUCLID and PLANCK start to to be available. MARE and an adapted KATRIN experiment could detect a keV sterile neutrino. It will be a fantastic discovery to detect dark matter in a beta decay. A formidable WDM work to perform is ahead of us.
3. History, Context and the CDM crisis (abridged): This Workshop is the third of a new Chalonge series in Meudon dedicated to Dark Matter. The first Workshop of this series (June 2010) allowed to identify and understand the issues of the serious problems faced by Cold Dark Matter (CDM) to reproduce the galactic (and even cluster of galaxies) observations. The 2010 and 2011 Workshops served as well to verify and better understand the confusion in the CDM research, namely the increasing number of cyclic arguments, and ad-hoc mechanisms introduced in the CDM simulations over most of twenty years, in trying to deal with the CDM small scale crisis: Cusped profiles and overabundance of substructures are predicted by CDM. Too many satellites are predicted by CDM simulations while cored profiles and no such overabundant substructures are seen by astronomical observations. Read more on the www of this Workshop.
4. The Workshop addresses the last progresses made in Warm Dark Matter and the Universal and Non Universal properties of Galaxies. In the tradition of the Chalonge School, an effort of clarification and synthesis will be made by combining in a conceptual framework, theory, analytical, observational and numerical simulation results that reproduce observations.
The subject will be approached in a threefold way:
(I) Conceptual context and keV WDM particle candidates, sterle neutrinos
(II) Astronomical observations linked to the galaxy structural properties, surveys, clusters and to structure formation at different (large and small (galactic) scales).
(III) WDM Numerical simulations which reproduce observations at large and small (galactic) scales.
TOPICS:
Recent progress in solving the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation to obtain the observed properties of galaxies (and clusters of galaxies). N-body numerical simulations with Warm Dark Matter. The surface density. The phase-space density. Particle model independent analysis of astrophysical dark matter. The impact of the mass of the dark matter particle on the small scale structure formation. The radial profiles and the Dark Matter distribution. Cored DM observed profiles. The keV scale Dark Matter (Warm Dark Matter): Observational and theoretical progresses. Large and small scale structure formation in agreement with observations at large and small (galactic) scales. The new serious dark matter candidate: Sterile neutrinos at the keV scale.
Sessions last for three full days in the beautiful green Meudon campus of Observatoire de Paris, where CIAS "Centre International d´Ateliers Scientifiques" is located. All sessions take place in the historic Château building, (built in 1706 by great architect Jules-Hardouin Mansart in orders by King Louis XIV for his son the Grand Dauphin).
The Meeting is open to all scientists interested in the subject. The format of the Meeting is intended to allow easy and fruitful mutual contact and communication.
Informations about the Workshop, participation information and background information are displayed at http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/Cias_Meudon2012.html
Early Registration is strongly encouraged.
With compliments and kind regards,
Chalonge.Ecole[AT]obspm.fr
http://chalonge.obspm.fr/
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1.6 2nd Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012 in Barcelona
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/05/2nd-iberian-gravitational-wave-meet…
Starting Wed, Feb 15, 2012 to Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Pre-announcement of the Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012
Dear Colleagues,
it is a pleasure to announce that the 2nd Iberian Gravitational-Wave Meeting 2012 will be organized by the Gravitational Wave Astronomy - LISA Group of the Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (CSIC-IEEC) in Barcelona. Following the format of the first meeting we plan to organize a 3-day meeting starting on February 15th and ending on February 17th, 2012. The style of the meeting will be informal, with significant time for discussions, and there will be no registration fee. In future communications we will describe the details of the scientific program.
The idea of the meeting is to bring together researchers with interest in the development of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, including researchers from related areas of Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Fundamental Physics. Please, feel free to send this announcement to scientists that may be interested in attending.
In order to make concrete plans, please let us know if you are interested to attend (just reply to sopuerta[AT]ieec.uab.es).
The organizing committee
Ivan Lloro
Alberto Lobo
Miquel Nofrarias
Carlos F. Sopuerta
Ulrich Sperhake
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2. Jobs
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2.1 Postdoctoral positions at the Center for Gravitation, Cosmology and Astrophysics at UW-Milwaukee
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/30/postdoctoral-positions-at-the-cente…
Institution: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Deadline: Sun, Jan 15, 2012
Additional Information: http://gravity.phys.uwm.edu
The Center for Gravitation and Cosmology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) invites applications for several postdoctoral research positions. The initial appointments are for one year, with renewal for a second (and, in some cases, a third) year contingent on continued funding and satisfactory performance.
The Center for Gravitation and Cosmology at UWM is one of the nation's largest and most active research groups in gravity, cosmology, astronomy, and astrophysics with ten faculty members, Luis Anchordoqui, Patrick Brady, Philip Chang, Jolien Creighton, Dawn Erb, John Friedman, David Kaplan, Leonard Parker, Xavier Siemens, and Alan Wiseman, senior scientist Scott Koranda, visiting professor Warren Anderson, and several postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. The group also maintains a close relationship with the Albert Einstein Institutes in Hannover and Golm through Bruce Allen and Maria Alessandra Papa who hold Adjunct appointments at UWM and visit regularly. More information about the people and the research can be found at http://gravity.phys.uwm.edu.
The group performs research that spans most aspects of LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) gravitational-wave data analysis activities, including searches for binary neutron star and black hole inspirals, continuous waves from isolated neutron stars, development and support of Einstein@Home, bursts, and stochastic background. The group is also active in several scientific computing collaborations. The group is recruiting postdoctoral research associates to work in any of these areas, and we have one position specifically for Einstein@Home science development. Applicants with a backgrounds in gravitational-wave physics, theoretical relativity, numerical relativity, cosmology, or high energy physics (theory and experiment) are welcome to apply.
In addition, the CGC is recruiting for a postdoctoral position in the areas of theoretical and/or computational astrophysics. The successful applicant will work in conjunction with Prof. Philip Chang. The position is initially for two years with a possible third year (contingent on funding and performance). The successful applicant will have a choice of problems to work on including aspects of Type Ia progenitor evolution, instabilities in plasma astrophysics, and/or any other research topic of mutual interest. Prior experience in running large numerical simulations is preferred but not required. The postdoc will also be encouraged to pursue independent lines of research with other CGC postdocs and faculty.
Applicants whose work overlaps any of the research interests of the group should send a C.V., publication list, and a brief statement of their research interests by email to cgcpd[AT]gravity.phys.uwm.edu, or by ordinary mail to:
Ms. Stefanie Pinnow, CGC Postdoc Search Committee
Department of Physics
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
(Phone 414-229-4960 Fax: 414-229-5589)
Applicants should also arrange to have three letters of recommendation sent by e-mail or to this address. The deadline for applications will be January 15th, 2011 but early applications are encouraged.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.
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2.2 Full-time lecturer in Physics at UMass Dartmouth
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/30/full-time-lecturer-in-physics-at-um…
Institution: North Dartmouth, MA, USA
Deadline: Sun, Jan 01, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.umassd.edu/hr/employmentopportunities/facultyjobopportunities/in…
The Department of Physics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth invites applications for a Full-Time Lecturer position beginning January or September 2012. This is a renewable, non-tenure-track position with responsibilities for undergraduate laboratory and classroom teaching. Applicants must: (1) hold an earned doctorate in Physics or allied field (or a masters degree with substantial teaching experience); (2) be proficient in course content and fluent in the English language; and (3) have a strong demonstrated commitment to teaching, especially at the undergraduate level.
Preferred candidates will have (1) outstanding credentials that clearly demonstrate their ability and commitment to undergraduate teaching, including laboratory work; and (2) experience in physics education research and/or astronomical observation. Successful candidates must show that they will be able to effectively teach a wide selection of undergraduate courses.
Applicants are invited to submit electronically a letter of application which includes a description of courses qualified to teach; detailed curriculum vitae; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least three professional references; and a one-page statement of teaching interests and philosophy to:
PHY-FTL Search
email coefacultysearch[AT]umassd.edu.
Employment is contingent upon verification of background/credentials and work authorization. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is an EEO/AA Employer
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2.3 Ph.D. Fellowships in Gravitational-Wave Science at the University of Birmingham
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/29/ph-d-fellowships-in-gravitational-w…
Institution: Birmingham, UK
Deadline: Fri, Jan 06, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/gwgroup/jobs.php
The Birmingham Gravitational Wave Group expects to fill several Ph.D. positions starting in Autumn 2012. We encourage applications to pursue projects in any of the research areas of the group (experiments, astrophysics and observations). Studentships are assigned on a competitive basis within the School of Physics and Astronomy and, where relevant, the University of Birmingham. In addition to studentships funded by research councils, this year additional funding opportunities are available for outstanding candidates through the following programs:
(a) Ten Elite Researcher Scholarships, for students of any nationality;
(b) Ten Birmingham Brazil Scholarships, for applicants that are Brazilian residents at the time of the application;
(c) Partial scholarships available for students from China, which are meant to supplement awards from the China Scholarship Council.
Students of any nationality are encouraged to apply. We are seeking Ph.D. students to work with Dr. Andreas Freise, Dr. Ilya Mandel, and Prof. Alberto Vecchio. The group currently consists of 17 people, with staff, post-docs and students from around the world.
Further information about the group is available at http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/gwgroup
Applications should be submitted in electronic form to gwave-phd[AT]star.sr.bham.ac.uk and must include:
- A cover letter briefly stating the research area(s) of interest. A concise description of the research areas is provided at http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/gwgroup/research.php
- A Curriculum vitae;
- University transcripts (scanned versions are acceptable);
- Applicants should also arrange for two reference letters to be sent to the above address.
The deadline for application, including reference letters, is Friday 6th January 2012 at 2pm (GMT).
We encourage non-UK residents to notify us at gwave-phd[AT]star.sr.bham.ac.uk as early as possible of their intent to apply.
Further details are available at http://www.sr.bham.ac.uk/gwgroup/jobs.php
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2.4 Postdoctoral positions in black-hole/neutron-star research at Amsterdam
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/23/postdoctoral-positions-in-black-hol…
Institution: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Deadline: Thu, Dec 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.astro.uva.nl/jobs/postdoctoral-positions-in-black-hole-neutron-s…
Three postdoctoral research positions are available with prof. M. van der Klis at the Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (API) of the University of Amsterdam in connection with the programme "Signals from Strong-Field Gravity: Getting to the Physics" with funding by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences. Requirements include a PhD in (astro)physics, demonstrable talent for research and a clear vision of how to contribute to the programme.
Projects should be observational/interpretative in nature and aim at aspects of black-hole and neutron-star astrophysics such as strong gravity and ultradense matter. They would include some of state-of-the-art X-ray observations, developing and trying out new approaches and methods for understanding the data, and creating new computer code. There is ample opportunity to participate in directing PhD and MSc student projects.
You will join a rapidly growing lively international research group focusing on observations and theory of accreting compact objects, with faculty Michiel van der Klis, Rudy Wijnands, Anna Watts, Phil Uttley and ~12 postdocs and graduate students. There are close ties with other groups at API in relativistic jets, gamma-ray bursts, astroparticle physics, and with groups abroad.
Appointments are typically for 3 years with mid-term evaluation and possibilities for obtaining personal grants depending on circumstances. Applications should comprise resume, research statement, publication list and (separately) two letters of reference. Positions are to be filled in 2012 / early 2013; applications will be considered continuously starting December 15, 2011 until all positions are filled.
Salary dependent on experience according to Netherlands university pay scales. Comprehensive social benefits. Universal health care insurance typically 100 euro/month/person. Closing date: June 30th, 2012
Address to: M. van der Klis, Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands; m.b.m.vanderklis[AT]uva.nl
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2.5 Postdoctoral position at Beijing Normal University in Quantum Gravity and Quantum Cosmology
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/22/postdoctoral-position-at-beijing-no…
Institution: Beijing, China
Deadline: Thu, Mar 01, 2012
Additional Information: http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/application/research/gravity/
The Center for Relativity and Gravitation at Beijing Normal Univerisity has one post-doctoral position opening from fall 2012 in the areas of quantum gravity and quantum cosmology. Successful candidate will work with Yongge Ma. The appointment will be for two years.
The gravity group consists of Sijie Gao, Wenbiao Liu, Yongge Ma, Bin Zhou and Jianyang Zhu. In addition, the retired professors Canbin Liang and Zheng Zhao join the academic activities frequently, and professors Abhay Ashtekar, Jerzy Lewandowski, Carlo Rovelli and Thomas Thiemann hold visiting professorships at the Institute. The areas of research in the group concern loop quantum gravity, black hole physics, general relativity, de Sitter spacetime, higher dimensional gravity and cosmology. For further information on the group, see the webpage: http://physics.bnu.edu.cn/application/research/gravity/
Interested candidates should send a CV, a publication list and a statement of research proposal and arrange to have two recommendation letters (one from the PhD advisor of the applicant) sent directly to:
Prof. Yongge Ma
Department of Physics
Beijing Normal Univeristy
Beijing 100875
CHINA
E-mail applications are also accepted. They should be sent to: mayg[AT]bnu.edu.cn, yonggema[AT]yahoo.com
The deadline for receipt of all application material is March 1st, 2012.
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2.6 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theoretical Gravitational Physics at the University of Nottingham
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/22/postdoctoral-research-fellow-in-the…
Institution: Nottingham, UK
Deadline: Wed, Dec 21, 2011
Additional Information: http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancies.aspx?cat=160#j10685
Applications are invited for an ERC-funded post based in the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Nottingham. The successful candidate will work with the ERC-funded research group on “Diffeomorphism invariant gauge theories, asymptotic safety and geometry” in the School of Mathematics as well as with the Particle Theory Group in the School of Physics and Astronomy.
The successful candidate's research will focus on topics related to gravitational physics, quantum gravity and unification of fundamental interactions. In particular, the successful applicant will be expected to contribute to the development of the gauge-theoretic description of General Relativity (and related modified gravity theories). This could include work on quantum renormalisation group flow calculations and/or on gravity/gauge theory unification within this approach. Candidates with research experience in modified gravity, the asymptotic safety approach to quantum gravity and/or unification of fundamental forces are encouraged to apply.
Salary will be within the range £27,428 - £32,751 per annum, depending on qualifications and experience. This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract. The initial appointment will be for one year, with the starting date October 1, 2012, and will be renewable for up to three years contingent on satisfactory performance. Candidates must have a PhD in physics, mathematics or a related area at the time the appointment begins.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr. Kirill Krasnov, Email: kirill.krasnov[AT]nottingham.ac.uk Please note that applications sent directly to this Email address will not be accepted.
For more details, as well as instructions on how to apply please access:
http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancies.aspx?cat=160#j10685
Closing date: 21 December 2011.
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2.7 Postdoctoral Position in Numerical Relativity at Jena
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/18/postdoctoral-position-in-numerical-…
Institution: Jena, Germany
Deadline: Tue, Jan 31, 2012
Additional Information: http://cse.mathe.uni-jena.de
The scientific computing group at the University Jena expects a postdoctoral opening beginning in 2012. The position will be within the Collaborative Research Center SFB/Transregio 7 Gravitational Wave Astronomy, including the gravity group at Jena Marcus Ansorg, Bernd Brügmann, Reinhard Meinel, and Gerhard Schäfer. There is the opportunity to participate in a wide range of research activities offered by the SFB/Transregio, see http://wwwsfb.tpi.uni-jena.de.
The successful candidate will work on numerical and computational methods for solving Einstein’s field equations of general relativity in a broader sense, which may include topics like numerical discretization schemes (e.g. discontinuous Galerkin method) or parallel computing (domain decomposition methods, GPU computing), see http://cse.mathe.uni-jena.de.
Applicants should email a curriculum vitae including full list of publications and a brief description of research interests. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
Prof. Gerhard Zumbusch,
Institut für Angewandte Mathematik,
Universität Jena,
D-07743 Jena,
Germany
gerhard.zumbusch[at]uni-jena.de
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2.8 Postdoctoral Position in Computational and Theoretical Black Hole Astrophysics at Georgia Tech
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/17/postdoctoral-position-in-computatio…
Institution: Atlanta, GA, USA
Deadline: Tue, Jan 31, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.cra.gatech.edu/
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in the area of computational and theoretical black hole astrophysics including numerical relativity at the Georgia Tech Center for Relativistic Astrophysics (CRA). The successful candidate will work with Dr. Tamara Bogdanovic, who will join the CRA faculty in 2012, and have opportunity to collaborate with other members of the CRA.
We are particularly interested in a candidate that will work on interaction of single and binary black holes with their environment, electromagnetic counterparts and black hole growth. Experience in running and analyzing parallel (magneto)hydrodynamical simulations is desired. The successful candidate will receive research and travel support as well as access to the local high-performance computing facilities and a new dedicated computer cluster. The appointment will initially be for two years with a possible extension to a third year, depending on funding availability and satisfactory progress. The expected starting date of the position is September 2012.
Current research interests at the CRA include theoretical topics in black hole and accretion physics, galaxy formation and cosmology, numerical relativity, gravitational waves and particle astrophysics. Center faculty working on these areas include David Ballantyne, Tamara Bogdanovic, Pablo Laguna (director), Nepomuk Otte, Deirdre Shoemaker, Ignacio Taboada, and John Wise. For more information visit http://www.cra.gatech.edu.
Applicants should email to cra[AT]physics.gatech.edu the following documents in PDF format: 1) cover letter with names of three references, 2) curriculum vitae including full list of publications, and 3) a brief description of research interests (maximum 3 pages). In addition, applicants should arrange to have three letters of reference emailed separately to cra[AT]physics.gatech.edu . Review of applications will begin on January 31, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled.
Georgia Tech is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity and the diversity of its workforce.
Attention To:
Dr. Tamara Bogdanovic
Department of Astronomy
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Phone:1 301 405 6651
Submission Email: cra[AT]physics.gatech.edu
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2.9 PhD Position in Relativity at Jena
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/15/phd-position-in-relativity-at-jena/
Institution: Jena, Germany
Deadline: Wed, Feb 01, 2012
Additional Information: http://wwwsfb.tpi.uni-jena.de
Applications are invited for a PhD position within the SFB/Transregio 7 Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. The successful candidate will work on analytical and numerical methods for solving Einstein’s field equations of general relativity.
The gravity group at Jena includes Marcus Ansorg, Bernd Brügmann, Reinhard Meinel, and Gerhard Schäfer, and also involves applied mathematician Gerhard Zumbusch. There is the opportunity to participate in a wide range of research activities offered by the SFB/Transregio grant on “Gravitational Wave Astronomy”, see http://wwwsfb.tpi.uni-jena.de.
As an equal opportunities employer, the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena wishes to support women in the context of statutory requirements. For this reason suitably qualified women are specifically invited to apply. Equally qualified applicants with disabilities will be given preferential treatment.
Please send your application with a curriculum vitae and a description of your research interests compiled in one single pdf document to Marcus.Ansorg[at]uni-jena.de. In addition, we request two letters of recommendation.
Applications are invited to arrive before February 1, 2012, although later applications will be considered until the position is filled.
For further questions please contact:
Professor Marcus Ansorg
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut
Max-Wien-Platz 1
07743 Jena, Germany
Marcus.Ansorg[at]uni-jena.de
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2.10 Postdoctoral positions in astrophysics at SISSA
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/11/postdoctoral-positions-in-astrophys…
Institution: Trieste, Italy
Deadline: Sun, Jan 15, 2012
Additional Information: http://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/1269
The Astrophysics Sector (http://www.sissa.it/ap) of the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste (SISSA, Italy) expects to have an opening for up to three research associate (postdoc) positions starting in Fall 2012. The positions are for two years and can be possibly extended for a third year.
A further opening starting in Fall 2012 or earlier is available for a two year research associate working specifically in the field of large-scale structure effects on the CMB.
SISSA is a multidisciplinary PhD school, unique in Italy, pursuing research in the areas of physics, mathematics and neuroscience and is located close to the main scientific institutions of the region (ICTP, Trieste University and the Trieste Observatory). The Astrophysics Sector currently consists of eleven staff members, nine postdocs and eighteen graduate students (http://www.sissa.it/ap/people.html) Our research interests include: analysis and interpretation of cosmic microwave background and sub-mm surveys (Planck and Herschel), large-scale structure and cluster physics, galaxies, dark matter, galactic and extragalactic black holes, stellar structure and evolution, high-energy astrophysics, relativistic astrophysics, early universe physics and gravitation theory.
We welcome applications from all candidates whose research interests complement or enhance those of our group.
The selected candidates are expected to take part in the scientific activity of the sector and to carry out their own independent research. There are no compulsory teaching duties. SISSA also offers good local computer facilities and access to regional supercomputing resources. All of our scientific activity is carried out in English (as is the administrative support) and we provide local assistance for all members: a housing office, Italian classes, a nursery for children of SISSA members and a gym.
Applicants should register with academicjobsonline.org and then submit a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a research statement giving a brief description of past research and future plans, and provide the names and email addresses of two referees who we will automatically contact. The online application form for these posts is at http://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/1269
For further information you can contact Lorena Bencina via email: bencina[AT]sissa.it
Completed applications should be received no later than January 15, 2012.
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2.11 International Relativistic Astrophysics Ph.D. Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Program
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/11/international-relativistic-astrophy…
Institution: IRAP PhD Institutions
Deadline: Sun, Feb 19, 2012
Additional Information: http://www.irap-phd.org
Following the successful scientific space missions by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, as well as the high energy particle activities at CERN in Genève, we have initiated a Ph.D. programme dedicated to create a pool of scientists in the field of relativistic astrophysics. After taking full advantage of the observational and experimental facilities mentioned above, the students of our programme are expected to lead the theoretical developments of one of the most active fields of research: relativistic astrophysics.
This program provides expertise in the most advanced topics of mathematical and theoretical physics, and in relativistic field theories, in the context of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. It provides the ability to model the observational data received from the above laboratories. This activity is necessarily international as no single university can have a scientific expertise in such a broad range of fields.
We announce two calls: one with a deadline on 19 February 2012, sponsored by Erasmus Mundus, and the other with a deadline on 30 September 2012. The Erasmus Mundus program has a very competitive salary as well as comprehensive benefits.
The Institutions participating in the IRAP PhD are: the international organization ICRANet as coordinating institution and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis as the host Institution; the Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam; the Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF) and ICRA Brasil; the Free University of Berlin; Indian Centre for Space Physics, Kolkata; Observatoire de la Cote D’Azur, Nice; Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China; University of Ferrara, Italy; University of Rome, la Sapienza, Italy; University of Savoie, Annecy, France; University of Stockolm, Sweden, Tartu Observatory, Estonia. The Final Ph.D. degree will be jointly delivered by the Academic Institutions participating in the program.
We encourage applications from the best candidates worldwide, independent of nationality, gender or background. The Courses: Each student will have to follow 180 hours of courses during the three years of the Ph.D. program. There is also a possibility to follow courses from other Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrophysics Ph.D. programs in each participating institution, after approval by the Faculty. Courses can be chosen from the following list:
VERY HIGH ENERGY PHENOMENA IN ASTROPHYSICS - Felix AHARONIAN; COSMOLOGICAL SINGULARITY - Vladimir BELINSKI; RELATIVISTIC EFFECTS IN ASTROPHYSICS - Carlo Luciano BIANCO; OBSERVERS AND OBSERVABLES IN BLACK HOLE SPACETIMES - Donato BINI; ACCRETIONS ON BLACK HOLES - Sandip Kumar CHAKRABARTI; PARTICLE PHYSICS APPLIED TO ASTROPHYSICS - Pascal CHARDONNET; GENERAL RELATIVITY - Thibault DAMOUR; SUPERNOVAE AND GRBS - Massimo DELLA VALLE; LARGE SCALE STRUCTURE - Jaan EINASTO; TOPICS IN COSMOLOGY AND PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS - Li Zhi FANG; X/GAMMA-RAY INSTRUMENTATION - Filippo FRONTERA; HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS: X-RAYS CLUSTERS - Riccardo GIACCONI; ON THE KERR SOLUTION - Roy KERR; RELATIVISTIC FIELD THEORY - Hagen KLEINERT; BOUNCING COSMOLOGY - Mario NOVELLO; BKL COSMOLOGY AND HIDDEN SYMMETRIES IN GRAVITY - Hermann NICOLAI; THE HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY UNIVERSE - Marco TAVANI; SPECTRAL TIMING FROM BLACK HOLE SOURCES - Lev TITARCHUK; SINGULARITIES AND GENERAL RELATIVITY - Kjell ROSQUIST; BLA
CK HOLES AND FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS - Remo RUFFINI; RELATIVISTIC KINETIC THEORY - Gregory VERESHCHAGIN; STRONG COUPLING QED AND ELECTRON-POSITRON PLASMA - She-Sheng XUE; THEORIES ON GAMMA-RAY BURSTS - Bing ZHANG; X-RAY ASTROPHYSICS - Shuangnan ZHANG
The Faculty: Giovanni Amelino-Camelia (SAPIENZA Università di Roma) - Vladimir Belinski (SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet) - Carlo Luciano Bianco (SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet) - Donato Bini (CNR – Istit. per Applicaz. del Calcolo “M. Picone”) - Sandip Kumar Chakrabarti (Indian Centre For Space Physics, India) - Pascal Chardonnet (Erasmus Mundus Coordinator) - Université de Savoie; Christian Cherubini - Università “Campus Biomedico” di Roma; Pierre Coullet - Université de Nice - Sophie Antipolis; Thibault Damour - IHES, Bures-sur-Yvette; Jaan Einasto - Tartu Observatory; Simonetta Filippi - Univ.“Campus Biomedico” di Roma and ICRANet; Sergio Frasca - SAPIENZA Università di Roma; Filippo Frontera - Università di Ferrara; Yipeng Jing - Shanghai Astronomical Observatory; Hagen Kleinert - Freie Universitat Berlin; Gian Luca Lippi - Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis; Francois Mignard - Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur; Hermann Nicolai -
Max Planck Inst. for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam; Mario Novello - Brazilian Centre For Physics Research, Brazil; José Pacheco - Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur; Kjell Rosquist - Stockolm University; Remo Ruffini (Director) - SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet; FarrokhVakili - Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur; Gregory Vereshchagin - SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet; She Sheng Xue - SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet; Shuangnan Zhang - Institute of High Energy Physics – Chinese Academy of Science
The Host Institution for the call of 2012-2015 is the Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis; Grand Château 28 Avenue Valrose 21 - B.P. 2135 - 06103 NICE CEDEX 2
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2.12 Postdoctoral position in general relativity/quantum gravity at the University of New Brunswick
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/07/post-doctoral-position-in-general-r…
Institution: Fredericton, NB, Canada
The gravitation and cosmology group at the University of New Brunswick expects up to two postdoctoral openings beginning in Fall 2012.
The group consists of three faculty (Jack Gegenberg, Viqar Husain and Sanjeev Seahra), 3-4 graduate students and 2 post-docs. Our present pdfs are Dawood Kothawala and Tomasz Pawloswki.
Our research interests are in classical and quantum gravity and cosmology.
To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV, and have 3 reference letters sent to one of our faculty (geg, sseahra or vhusain [AT] unb.ca) by November 30, 2011. To apply for an AARMS PDF (http://aarms.math.ca/pdf/rules.html) the deadline for us to receive an application is November 30, 2011.
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2.13 Postdoctoral position in black-hole physics at the University of Aveiro
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/04/postdoctoral-position-in-black-hole…
Institution: Aveiro, Portugal
Deadline: Sat, Dec 31, 2011
Additional Information: http://gravitation.web.ua.pt/
We invite applications for a postdoctoral position in the area of black hole physics (including exact solutions, perturbative aspects, gravitational radiation, numerical relativity, black holes in string theory, alternative theories of gravity and other related areas). The appointment is for two years, subject to funding renewal and satisfactory performance.
A tentative date for the appointment is Mar 1st, 2012 (with possible variations to be agreed upon with the successful applicant). All candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Physics.
The successful applicant will be integrated in the Gr@v group at the University of Aveiro. More information on the group can be found at
http://gravitation.web.ua.pt/
The applicant is expected to contribute to the efforts of the group and to the training of students. Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a statement of research interests and two letters of recommendation to the following e-mail address:
herdeiro[AT]ua.pt
Please use the subject “post-doctoral application”.
Applications should be received by Dec 31st, 2011. Incomplete applications shall not be considered. Screening of applicants will begin on Jan 1, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. For more information please contact Carlos Herdeiro (herdeiro[AT]ua.pt).
This position is financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) e co-financed by the European Fund of Regional Development, through COMPETE – Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC). The eracareers announcement can be found in
http://www.eracareers.pt/opportunities/index.aspx?task=showAnuncioOportunit…
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3. News
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3.1 New book on Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/11/28/new-book-on-gravitational-waves/
Additional Information: http://www.wiley-vch.de/publish/en/books/bySubjectPH00/availableTitles/3-52…
"Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy: An Introduction to Theory, Experiment and Data Analysis."
This is a graduate-level textbook.
Authors: Jolien D. E. Creighton, Warren G. Anderson.
Publisher: Wiley-VCH (Weinheim, Germany)
ISBN: 978-3-527-40886-3
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02 Nov '11
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 6th Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation
1.2 Relativity and Gravitation - 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (2nd announcement)
1.3 Near Field Cosmology as a Probe of Early Universe, Dark Matter and Gravity
2. Jobs
2.1 Two Research Associate positions in Gravitational Astronomy at Cardiff
2.2 Assistant/Associate/Full Professor at LSU
2.3 Sciama Research Fellowship in Theoretical Cosmology at ICG, Portsmouth
2.4 International Physics Course at Osaka University (master and Ph.D.)
2.5 Postdoctoral positions in Astrophysical Relativity at the AEI-Potsdam
2.6 Lectureship in Mathematics and Statistics at Sheffield
2.7 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Monash University
2.8 Postdoctoral Researcher/Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at LSU
2.9 Postdoctoral position in general relativity at Cornell University
2.10 Faculty Position at CITA
2.11 Postdoctoral Position in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at Mississippi
2.12 Several Postdoctoral positions at the Rochester Institute of Technology
2.13 Postdoctoral Position in Theoretical Physics at Indiana University
2.14 Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Physics at Perimeter Institute
2.15 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology/Astroparticle Physics at Physics Dept. "G.Galilei" Padova and INFN Padova (Italy)
3. News
3.1 2011 GWIC Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations
3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Entanglement Entropy of Black Holes"
3.3 New forthcoming relativity books by M. S. Berman
3.4 LIGO Open Data Survey
3.5 Highlights and Conclusions of the Workshop "Warm Dark Matter in Galaxies: Theoretical and Observational Progresses"
3.6 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematical or Numerical Relativity
3.7 New focus issue on string cosmology free to read in CQG
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1. Conferences
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1.1 6th Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/30/6th-australasian-conference-on-gene…
Starting Wed, Feb 08, 2012 to Sat, Feb 11, 2012
Location: Queenstown, New Zealand
Additional Information: http://www.maths.otago.ac.nz/acgrg6/
The Sixth Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (ACGRG6) will be held in New Zealand's premier mountain resort: Queenstown in the South Island, from the 8th to the 11th of February 2012.
The conference brings together researchers in general relativity (mathematical/theoretical/numerical), theoretical and observational cosmology, relativistic astrophysics and gravitational wave detection. It is hosted by the University of Otago (Dunedin) and supported by the Australasian Society for General Relativity and Gravitation (ASGRG).
Plenary speakers include: Florian Beyer (Otago), Richard Easther (Auckland), Steve Maddox (Canterbury), Andrew Melatos (Melbourne), Todd Oliynyk (Monash), and Dan Shaddock (ANU).
For registration and further details please visit: http://www.maths.otago.ac.nz/acgrg6/. The website will be updated with additional information as it becomes available.
What: 6th Australasian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation
Where: Rydges Lakeside Resort, Queenstown, New Zealand
When: 8-11 February 2012
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1.2 Relativity and Gravitation - 100 Years after Einstein in Prague (2nd announcement)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/29/relativity-and-gravitation-100-year…
Starting Mon, Jun 25, 2012 to Fri, Jun 29, 2012
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Additional Information: http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/
The conference is organized at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's stay in Prague, with the aim of providing an overview of the development and progress achieved in general relativity and its applications since then.
The main topics of the conference include:
* Mathematical relativity
* Numerical relativity
* Relativistic astrophysics
* Relativistic cosmology
* Quantum gravity
* Gravitation and experiment
* Conceptual and historical issues
The meeting is organized under the auspices of the Rector of Charles University. The lectures will take place in the historical complex of the University in the heart of Prague's Old Town.
Scientific Program
The schedule of the conference will include plenary lectures and up to three parallel sessions in the afternoon. Posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference. The scientific program will be based primarily on invited lectures, the list of which is now under preparation. Confirmed speakers include:
M. Abramowicz (Goeteborgs Univ.), A. Ashtekar (Penn State Univ.), J. Barbour (Univ. of Oxford), B. Bruegmann (F. Schiller Univ.), T. Damour (IHES), K. Danzmann (Albert-Einstein Inst. and Leibniz Univ.), J. Friedman (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), H. Friedrich (Albert Einstein Inst.), V. Frolov (Univ. of Alberta), G. Gibbons (Univ. of Cambridge), G. Gonzalez (Louisiana State Univ.), K. Kuchar (Univ. of Utah), J. Lewandowski (Univ. of Warsaw), G. Neugebauer (F. Schiller Univ.), H. Nicolai (Albert-Einstein Inst.) L. Rezzolla (Albert-Einstein Inst.), M. Sasaki (Kyoto Univ.), G. Schaefer (F. Schiller Univ.), B. Schutz (Albert Einstein Inst.), A. Starobinsky (Landau Inst.), R. Wald (Univ. of Chicago), and C. Will (Washington Univ.).
Space will be reserved also for contributed oral and poster presentations. Please see below for abstract submission information.
Registration
Registration will open in December 2011. Details will be available soon on the conference website.
Standard registration fee: 350 EUR before April 15, 2012
Late registration fee: 450 EUR after April 15, 2012
Limited financial support in the form of a reduced registration fee may be available for junior researchers: apply by January 31, 2012 through the conference website.
In addition to conference participation the registration fee includes: abstract book and conference materials; coffee breaks; welcome cocktail on Sunday, June 24; classical music concert in the Gothic Aula Magna of Charles University on Tuesday, June 26; guided tour through Einstein's Prague followed by banquet on Thursday, June 28 (accompanying persons need a separate banquet ticket).
Due to spacetime constraints, the number of participants is limited to around 150. It is thus possible that the registration may close already before April 15, 2012. An advance announcement will be made when the number of fully registered participants exceeds 120.
Abstract Submission
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations by April 15, 2012. Contributed presentations will be selected by the organizers. Please note that the number of oral contributions in particular is limited. The abstract submission page will be available on the conference website in December 2011.
Accommodation
Prague offers a broad range of hotels, hostels, and other lodging options. Participants are expected to arrange their accommodation individually. A list of recommended hotels and other suitable accommodation will be provided on the conference website.
Important dates
December 1, 2011: Registration opens
January 31, 2012: Financial support application deadline
April 15, 2012: Standard registration closes; Abstract submission deadline
June 24, 2012: See you in Prague!
Scientific Organizing Committee
Marek Abramowicz, Lars Andersson, Abhay Ashtekar, Julian Barbour, Jiri Bicak, Roger Blandford, Bernd Bruegmann, Piotr Chrusciel, Thibault Damour, Karsten Danzmann, Fernando de Felice, George Ellis, John Friedman, Helmut Friedrich, Valeri Frolov, Gary Gibbons, Gary Horowitz, Joseph Katz, Karel Kuchar, Jerzy Lewandowski, Gernot Neugebauer, Hermann Nicolai, Igor Novikov, Martin Rees, Oscar Reula, Luciano Rezzolla, Misao Sasaki, Gerhard Schaefer, Bernd Schmidt, Alexei Starobinsky, Paul Tod, Robert Wald, Clifford Will.
For more detailed information, please visit http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz/ . To receive notifications about updates by email, click on "Preliminary interest" and sign up on the website.
Jiri Bicak (on behalf of SOC and LOC)
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1.3 Near Field Cosmology as a Probe of Early Universe, Dark Matter and Gravity
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/24/near-field-cosmology-as-a-probe-of-…
Starting Tue, Nov 29, 2011 to Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Location: Annapolis, MD, USA
Additional Information: http://jsi.astro.umd.edu/conferences/2011-jsi-workshop.html
The Joint Space Science Institute -- consisting of astronomers, astrophysicists and physicists from the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center -- is planning a cross-cutting workshop on “Near Field Cosmology as a Probe of Early Universe, Dark Matter and Gravity”. We aim to bring together 80-100 scientists from around the world to discuss many aspects of observations, theory, and how they all fit together.
The workshop will take place between: Nov 29th and Dec. 1st 2011. Online registration and abstract submission will open Sept 17th. More information can be found on the webpage of the workshop.
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2. Jobs
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2.1 Two Research Associate positions in Gravitational Astronomy at Cardiff
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/31/2-research-associates-in-gravitatio…
Institution: Cardiff, UK
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.cf.ac.uk/jobs/physx/research-associate-in-gravitational-astronom…
Cardiff Gravitational Physics group (http://www.astro.cardiff.ac.uk/research/gravity/) is seeking applications from highly motivated and competitive candidates to fill two STFC-funded postdoctoral positions. Both positions involve research into detection and measurement of gravitational waves in data from Advanced LIGO, GEO-HF and Advanced Virgo detectors and using the results to address a range of questions in fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. Candidates are expected to take part in the development of algorithms that help improve searches for gravitational-wave signals in detector data and extract astrophysical and cosmological information from detected events.
Current members of the group include academics Stephen Fairhurst, Leonid Grishchuk (emeritus), Mark Hannam, B.S. Sathyaprakash, Bernard Schutz (part time), and Patrick Sutton, three postdoctoral fellows and eight PhD students.
The Group cofounded the British-German GEO600 collaboration, is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and is involved in the planning of the space-based LISA and the third generation Einstein Telescope (ET) Observatory.
Group members play leading roles within the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, in particular in gravitational-wave searches for compact binary coalescences, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and other transient sources. The Group’s research interests also include modelling binary black hole orbits using analytical and numerical relativity and their gravitational wave emission, strong field tests of gravity, development of algorithms and software to search for gravitational waves and quantum processes in the early Universe – specifically cosmic microwave and gravitational wave backgrounds.
The positions are available initially for a period of two years, extendible to up to four years depending on performance. The posts are available from 1 March 2012, but the precise starting date is negotiable.
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2.2 Assistant/Associate/Full Professor at LSU
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/31/assistantassociatefull-professor/
Institution: Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 15, 2011
Additional Information: https://lsusystemcareers.lsu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=51804
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Louisiana State University invites applications for a faculty position in physics starting in the fall of 2012. The faculty in the gravity theory group at LSU consists of Peter Diener, Robert O’Connell, Jorge Pullin, Parampreet Singh and Gabrielle Allen and Edward Seidel (both on leave at the National Science Foundation). There is also a quantum information technology group at LSU led by Jonathan Dowling, a theoretical astrophysics group led by Juhan Frank and Joel Tohline, and an experimental gravity group led by Thomas Corbitt, Joe Giaime, Gabriela González and Warren Johnson. The Department has strong research efforts in particle physics, including nuclear and neutrino physics, space physics, condensed matter physics, medical physics, and astronomy and astrophysics.
Preference will be given to candidates working in loop quantum gravity, but exceptional candidates in other areas of theoretical gravity will also be considered.
Salary and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check. Application deadline is December 15th 2011 or until a candidate is selected.
This is an abridged version of the ad. The full ad can be found at
https://lsusystemcareers.lsu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=51804
LSU System is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Employer
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2.3 Sciama Research Fellowship in Theoretical Cosmology at ICG, Portsmouth
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/31/sciama-research-fellowship-in-theor…
Institution: Portsmouth, UK
Deadline: Fri, Dec 30, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/
The Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) invites applications for a postdoctoral research fellowship in theoretical cosmology named in honour of the pioneering British cosmologist Dennis Sciama (1926-1999). We seek an outstanding postdoctoral scientist to work in collaboration with existing staff in the ICG. Applicants should have a record of high-quality research in theoretical cosmology and propose an original programme of research, complementary to existing research expertise in the ICG. A PhD and relevant research expertise is required. The post is for three years, starting on 1st October 2012.
The ICG consists of 12 academic staff, 13 postdoctoral researchers and 18 PhD students, and is a member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III), the Dark Energy Survey, and the UK Low Frequency Array Consortium (LOFAR:UK). ICG researchers have access to the new 1000-core SCIAMA supercomputer at Portsmouth, as well as the UK National Cosmology Supercomputer Consortium (COSMOS). Many staff are also involved in many other on-going and planned astrophysical surveys. More information is available at http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/
Applications (Application Form, CV, 3-page research proposal, names of 3 referees) should be sent by email to jobs[AT]port.ac.uk and copied to icg-admin[AT]port.ac.uk. Applicants should also arrange for up to three letters of reference to be sent by email to icg-admin[AT]port.ac.uk, to arrive by the closing date, 30th December 2011. Late applications may be considered until the post has been filled.
Informal enquiries about this post can be made to david.wands[AT]port.ac.uk
To find out more about the University of Portsmouth and this role, visit www.port.ac.uk/vacancies and apply on-line. Alternatively telephone 023 9284 3421 for an application pack.
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2.4 International Physics Course at Osaka University (master and Ph.D.)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/31/international-physics-course-at-osa…
Institution: Osaka, Japan
Deadline: Sat, Dec 10, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.rcnp.osaka-u.ac.jp/~IPC/
The Department of Physics of Osaka University is calling for applications to its International Physics Course (IPC).
It offers Master and Ph.D. courses on a wide range of research topics in Physics (see also the webpage below for more details). The most successful applicants will receive a scholarship.
Education and research is conducted in English (but students are welcome to learn a little of Japanese language and culture).
Applications for the admission to the academic year 2012/13 (starting from October 1, 2012) are open from November 1 to December 10, 2011.
More information at: http://www.rcnp.osaka-u.ac.jp/~IPC/
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2.5 Postdoctoral positions in Astrophysical Relativity at the AEI-Potsdam
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/30/postdoctoral-positions-in-astrophys…
Institution: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline: Thu, Dec 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://numrel.aei.mpg.de
The Astrophysical Relativity division at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein Institute) in Potsdam, Germany, anticipates the filling of at least one postdoctoral position within the "numerical-relativity" group.
The numerical-relativity group is primarily but not exclusively concerned with the numerical solution of the Einstein equations and with the modelling of compact objects, such as neutron stars and black holes. Its work is a multi-disciplinary effort, spanning the fields of relativistic astrophysics, hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics, differential geometry, mathematics of nonlinear partial differential equations and high-performance computing. The group consists of postdoctoral fellows: Daniela Alic, Pau Amaro-Seoane, Eloisa Bentivegna, Riccardo Ciolfi, Abraham Harte, Ian Hinder, Seth Hopper, Jose Luis Jaramillo, Gian Mario Manca, Francesco Pannarale, Alberto Sesana, Kentaro Takami, of faculty Luciano Rezzolla, and of several graduate students. To learn more about the group, please visit: http://numrel.aei.mpg.de
The Albert Einstein Institute also hosts a Divisions in Mathematical Relativity and Quantum Gravity and has an extremely active visitors program. It enjoys close proximity to the Universities of Potsdam and Berlin, the Astrophysics Institute of Potsdam, and has excellent in-house supercomputing facilities. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.aei.mpg.de
The positions are for one year and renewable up to three depending on satisfactory progress. The appointments are expected to begin around Sept. 1, 2012, but an earlier date is also possible. The deadline for applications is Dec. 15, 2011. Applications can be made online via the web interface at
https://lotus1.aei.mpg.de/job-form.nsf/registrationNR.xsp
Applicants should upload a CV, a publication list, a research summary specifying which position they are interested in, and indicate the names of at least 3 referees.
The Albert Einstein Institute is an equal-opportunity employer and hires on the basis of merit. Applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, and women are encouraged.
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2.6 Lectureship in Mathematics and Statistics at Sheffield
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/27/lectureship-in-mathematics-and-stat…
Institution: Sheffield, UK
Deadline: Thu, Nov 24, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ADK937/lectureship-in-mathematics-and-statistics/
Applications in gravitational and mathematical physics are encouraged for the following position:
The School of Mathematics and Statistics has a strong research ethos and includes several research groups with high international reputation. The School offers MMath and BSc undergraduate courses, runs a long-established MSc in Statistics and provides service teaching of mathematics to other parts of the University. Following significant investment by the Faculty of Science, including new Chairs in probability and in mathematical biology, the School of Mathematics and Statistics invites applications for two lectureships with a starting date of 1 September 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.
We are looking for candidates with a strong track record of high quality research in Algebra, Field Theory, Geometry, Mathematical Biology, Probability, Solar Physics or another area linking with existing strengths of the School.
You will be expected to carry out and publish high-quality research in an area covered by the REF Mathematical Sciences Subpanel, to supervise postgraduate students and to teach at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
You will have a PhD in a relevant area of mathematics or statistics, or be close to completion. You will also have an established record of high-quality research in your chosen field or be able to demonstrate strong research potential, as well as excellence in teaching.
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2.7 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Monash University
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/26/lecturersenior-lecturer-in-mathemat…
Institution: Melbourne, Australia
Deadline: Tue, Jan 31, 2012
Additional Information: http://jobs.monash.edu.au/jobDetails.asp?sJobIDs=498605
The School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) invites applications for a tenure-track academic position starting anytime in 2012. Targeted recruiting is for the Lecturer or Senior Lecturer rank (equivalent to the US assistant professor or associate professor), but applicants at higher ranks will be considered. A PhD in mathematics is required. Candidates should have strong potential or demonstrated capability for effective research and teaching in a branch of pure mathematics with priority given to analysis, geometry, number theory, algebra, group theory, or combinatorics. The School includes the areas of algebra and discrete mathematics; analysis and geometry; bioinformatics, computational mathematics; operations research; probability and statistics; astrophysics; and atmospheric science and geophysical fluid dynamics. For further information regarding the school and its programs, please visit the web site http://www.maths.monash.edu.au/
Together with a research statement, teaching statement, applicants should indicate their research specialties and interests in their cover letter.
Names of three referees are to be provided, and the key selection criteria must be addressed.
To apply, go to
http://jobs.monash.edu.au/jobDetails.asp?sJobIDs=498605
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2.8 Postdoctoral Researcher/Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at LSU
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/14/postdoctoral-researchersenior-postd…
Institution: Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 15, 2011
Additional Information: https://lsusystemcareers.lsu.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=53733
The theoretical relativity group expects to have (contingent on funding) an opening for a postdoctoral researcher or senior postdoctoral researcher to start July 2012. This position conducts research in loop quantum gravity including either the canonical or spin foam approaches and/or loop quantum cosmology. The initial appointment will be for one year and is expected to be renewed for another one or two years subject to satisfactory progress and availability of funds. The core relativity group at LSU consists of Steve Brandt, Frank Loeffler, Peter Diener, Jorge Pullin, and Parampreet Singh. In addition, LSU hosts a strong experimental gravity group with activity in LIGO, whose Livingston site is 30 miles away from Baton Rouge. LSU is also host to the Center for Computation and Technology (CCT), a multidisciplinary research center which includes computational groups in several areas of science, engineering and the humanities. Several researchers in the relativity group have j
oint appointments at CCT.
THE LSU SYSTEM IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS EMPLOYER
This is an abridged version of the ad. For the full version follow the URL.
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2.9 Postdoctoral position in general relativity at Cornell University
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/14/postdoctoral-position-in-general-re…
Institution: Ithaca, NY, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Cornell University expects to have an opening for a postdoctoral associate in general relativity starting in September, 2012. The position is for one year, with subsequent renewals depending on performance and the availability of funds. The Cornell Relativity Group consists of faculty members Eanna Flanagan and Saul Teukolsky, senior research associate Larry Kidder, research associates Geoffrey Lovelace, Michael Boyle, and Robert Owen, and a number of graduate students. Research interests of the group include computational relativity, black holes, gravitational waves, the gravitational self-force, modified theories of gravity and cosmology. There will also be opportunities to interact with the Theoretical Astrophysics Group, including Rachel Bean, David Chernoff, Dong Lai, Richard Lovelace, and Ira Wasserman.
Applicants should submit a resume with a list of publications and statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to:
Sharon Falletta
Space Sciences Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-6801
Applications can also be emailed to falletta[AT]astro.cornell.edu, with the subject line "Gravitational theory postdoc".
Completed applications should be received no later than December 1, 2011. Only candidates who anticipate receiving their Ph.D. by September 2011 should apply.
Cornell is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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2.10 Faculty Position at CITA
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/11/cita-faculty-position/
Institution: Toronto, Canada
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/index.php/Working-CITA/CITA-Faculty-Position
The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), a national centre for theoretical astrophysics hosted by the University of Toronto, invites applications for a tenure-stream faculty position, to commence July 1, 2012. The search is open to candidates at the Assistant or Associate Professor level.
Applicants from any area of theoretical astrophysics, cosmology and early universe physics are encouraged to apply; we seek candidates with a PhD, exceptionally strong and internationally recognized research records, and outstanding promise of future research accomplishments.
Additional selection criteria include demonstrated excellence in teaching, in particular working with research fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, and to assume a leadership role in administering CITA’s active postdoctoral and visitor programs. The successful candidate will demonstrate excellence in research and have a strong commitment to excellence in teaching. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. CITA is an institute within the Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto. The present complement of research staff includes six faculty and over 25 research fellows. The unique research environment at CITA is enhanced by close ties to the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Dunlap Institute, the Department of Physics, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Cosmology and Gravity Program.
We encourage applicants to apply online by clicking here and search for Job #1100857. If you are unable to apply online, please submit your application and other materials via e-mail to: citadmin[AT]cita.utoronto.ca using the subject line "Faculty Search". Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a bibliography, a statement of research interests. Please arrange for three letters of recommendation to be mailed directly to:
Prof. Norman Murray, Director
CITA, University of Toronto
60 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5S 3H8
All materials should reach CITA by December 1, 2011.
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2.11 Postdoctoral Position in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at Mississippi
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/postdoctoral-position-in-theoretica…
Institution: Oxford, MS, USA
Deadline: Sat, Dec 31, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/GR/?x=entry:entry111006-181836
The University of Mississippi invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the area of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics. The applicant must have a Ph.D. in Physics or Astrophysics and a good track record in one or more of the following research areas: gravitational-wave source modeling, numerical relativity, post-Newtonian theory, alternative theories of gravity, perturbation theory of stars and black holes.
The Gravitational and High-Energy Theory Group at the University of Mississippi is active in various areas of theoretical and experimental gravity, and is part of the LIGO collaboration. Members of the group include Emanuele Berti, Luca Bombelli, Marco Cavaglia, Alakabha Datta and Tibor Torma, adjunct professors Vitor Cardoso and Ulrich Sperhake, postdocs Jocelyn Read and Alexander Dietz, and several graduate students. The University has excellent computing facilities, which include the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research and a departmental linux computer farm.
The successful applicant is expected to engage in a collaborative research program involving several institutions, including Caltech and Princeton in the USA, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome and Aveiro in Europe, and Para' University in Brazil (among others).
More information on the gravity group in Mississippi is available at the following URL:
http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/GR/
A curriculum vitae (including a list of publications and a statement of research interests) should be sent to the following e-mail address:
grpostdoc[AT]phy.olemiss.edu
Please use the subject "Gravitational theory postdoc". Applicants must also arrange to have at least three recommendation letters to be sent to the same email address.
The University requires all applicants to submit their application (including a CV and a statement of research interests) online at the following website:
http://jobs.olemiss.edu
Please click on "search postings" on the left, then from the drop-down menus select:
"Job Title" -> "Postdoctoral Research Associate"
"Department" -> "Physics and Astronomy"
The present position is filed as number 11421258-100611.
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2.12 Several Postdoctoral positions at the Rochester Institute of Technology
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/several-postdoctoral-positions-in-t…
Institution: Rochester, NY, USA
Deadline: Sat, Dec 31, 2011
Additional Information: http://ccrg.rit.edu
Several Postdoctoral positions at the Rochester institute of Technology
The Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (CCRG) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) anticipates filling several postdoctoral positions in the coming year. We are looking for postdoctoral candidates interested in working on numerical relativity. Binary black hole simulations, relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics (GRMHD) simulations of coalescing astrophysical compact objects, such as black-hole and/or neutron star binaries, supermassive black hole mergers and their interactions with their surrounding accretion disks, and core-collapse supernovae.
There are currently eleven senior researchers working in a broad range of areas of gravitational physics and astrophysics at the CCRG. Six faculty members work in numerical relativity and/or gravitational wave science: Manuela Campanelli, Joshua Faber, Carlos Lousto, Yosef Zlochower, John Whelan, and Hans-Peter Bischof (a visualization expert), as well as five postdoctoral fellows: Melissa Frei, Bruno Mundim, Scott Noble, Jason Nordhaus, and Hiroyuki Nakano, and several graduate students.
The successful postdoctoral candidates will be will have the possibility to collaborate on a broad range of research topics in computational astrophysics and gravitational physics. Our group is involved in several large collaborations, including the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), The Einstein Toolkit Consortium, a petascale computing project with NCSA, the NINJA (Numerical Injection Analysis) project, and the NRAR (numerical relativity-analytical relativity) collaboration. Several group members also have an ongoing collaborative research project with Johns Hopkins University to study accretion disks around supermassive black holes and explore relativistic phenomena in active galactic nuclei such as jets in active galactic nuclei.
The positions are for two years and renewable depending on satisfactory performance and the availability of funds.
CCRG researchers have access to several computing cluster facilities at national computing centers as well as a dedicated 800-core cluster hosted in the Center.
More information about the CCRG is available at http://ccrg.rit.edu/
And about Rochester in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York
Applications should consist of a cover letter, a brief statement of research interests, a curriculum vitae including publication list, and at least three letters of recommendation. All materials should be sent electronically as soon as possible to: CCRG-postdoc[AT]ccrgweb.rit.edu
Enquiries can be addressed to:
Manuela Campanelli, manuela[AT]astro.rit.edu
Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation,
and School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS)
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
85 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, New York 14623 USA
Review of completed applications will begin December 31st, 2011 and will continue until February 1st, 2012 or until all positions are filled. RIT is committed to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
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2.13 Postdoctoral Position in Theoretical Physics at Indiana University
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/postdoctoral-position-in-theoretica…
Institution: Bloomington, IN, USA
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Applications are invited for the position of postdoctoral fellow in theoretical physics at Indiana University. The current faculty in our group are Micheal Berger, Radovan Dermisek, Steven Gottlieb, Alan Kostelecky, and Enrico Lunghi. The position is available from September 1, 2012 and is expected to last for two years, subject to satisfactory performance. A completed Ph.D. degree is required prior to assuming the position.
Each application should include a curriculum vitae, a description of research interests and accomplishments, and a list of publications. Candidates should also have at least three letters of reference sent to: Theory Group - Postdoc Search, Physics Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, U.S.A. Email applications should be sent to oldhamt[AT]indiana.edu.
Applications received before November 15, 2011 may receive preference. Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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2.14 Postdoctoral Researchers in Theoretical Physics at Perimeter Institute
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/04/2012-post-doctoral-researchers-in-t…
Institution: Waterloo, ON, Canada
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca
Applications are now open for postdoctoral fellowships at Perimeter Institute (PI) to begin in Fall 2012. PI hosts the world’s largest group of independent postdoctoral fellows in foundational theoretical physics. At PI, Postdoctoral Fellows are encouraged to formulate and pursue their own chosen lines of research, across all fields of theoretical physics, within an exceptionally supportive environment. They enjoy ample opportunities to interact with senior scientists, host collaborators, organize workshops and conferences, and participate in the training of graduate students. In addition, a unique mentoring system gives early career scientists the feedback and support they need to become flourishing, independent researchers. PI’s previous postdoctoral fellows have had excellent success in obtaining faculty or permanent positions at leading universities and research institutes around the world.
PI encourages applications from outstanding postdoctoral researchers in: condensed matter theory, cosmology, particle physics, quantum foundations, quantum gravity, quantum information, string theory and other areas of theoretical physics. Postdoctoral positions are normally held for a period of three years, although exceptional candidates may also be considered for senior postdoctoral positions with five-year terms.
Located west of Toronto, in Waterloo, Canada, Perimeter Institute was founded in 1999 as an independent institute supporting research in foundational areas of theoretical physics. Over the past decade, PI has emerged as a leading centre in the areas of quantum information, quantum foundations, quantum gravity, string theory and cosmology. The Institute is now expanding its fields of focus to include particle physics, condensed matter, and complex systems, combining insights from the full spectrum of physics within its cutting-edge research programs.
Postdoctoral Researchers will also have opportunities to visit scientists connected with experimental and observational centers such as the Large Hadron Collider; the Planck satellite; VISTA, VLT, the SKA and other observatories; SNOlab and other astroparticle facilities; and LIGO, LISA and other gravitational wave detectors.
The Institute’s growing research staff currently comprises over 80 resident researchers, including 16 Faculty members and 15 Associate Faculty members, in addition to visiting Distinguished Research Chairs. The Institute hosts hundreds of visitors and conference participants throughout the academic year, in addition to over 25 PhD students, and 37 Masters level students participating in Perimeter Scholars International.
PI strives to offer an optimal environment for scientific enquiry and discovery, where resident and visiting researchers of all backgrounds pursue diverse approaches to fundamental questions in an atmosphere of intense scientific interaction. Researchers enjoy a collaborative atmosphere and the amenities of our award-winning facility, with excellent support for them and their families. Frequent cultural and social events are held at the Institute for the entire PI community (see Event Horizons to get a flavour of PI’s cultural offerings).
The deadline for applications is November 15, 2011.
Please email pdfrecruitment[AT]perimeterinstitute.ca with any questions.
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2.15 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology/Astroparticle Physics at Physics Dept. "G.Galilei" Padova and INFN Padova (Italy)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/04/postdoctoral-position-in-cosmologya…
Institution: Padova, Italy
Additional Information: http://www.ac.infn.it/personale/borsedistudio/pdf/getfile.php?filename=1462…
The INFN PD51 research group leading the Cosmology/Astroparticle program Inflation, Dark Matter and the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe announces one postdoctoral position in Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, to begin in Fall 2012. The position will be a 1 + 1 year appointment and reserved for non-italian citizens. The post-doc research activity will be mainly related to primordial non-Gaussianity and Inflationary models.
The following Institutes participating in the program may host the Fellowship:
Padova INFN Section and University, Italy (main node)
Ferrara INFN Section and University, Italy
Bologna INFN Section and University, Italy
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and University of L’Aquila, Italy
Roma Tor Vergata University, Italy
Roma III University, Italy
Torino University, Italy
Trieste SISSA and University, Italy
The staff team members are:
Padova: Nicola Bartolo, Michele Liguori, Sabino Matarrese, Massimo Pietroni, Antonio Riotto.
Also present in Padova are:
Gianguido Dall'Agata, Ferruccio Feruglio, Antonio Masiero, Massimo Passera, Stefano Rigolin, Fabio Zwirner
Ferrara: Denis Comelli, Paolo Natoli
Bologna: Stefano Ettori, Fabio Finelli, Massimo Meneghetti, Lauro Moscardini
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and L’Aquila: Zourab Berejiani, Luigi Pilo, Francesco Villante
Roma Tor Vergata: Amedeo Balbi, Francesco Fucito, Nicola Vittorio
Roma III: Enzo Branchini
Torino: Antonaldo Diaferio, Luisa Ostorero
Trieste SISSA and University: Carlo Baccigalupi, Stefano Borgani, Stefano Cristiani, Samuel Leach, Paolo Tozzi, Matteo Viel
The deadline is Thursday, October 20, 2011 (also for the upload of Reference Letters).
The interested candidates should apply directly at the web page
http://www.ac.infn.it/personale/theo_fellowships/priv/index2.php?inf=modulo
selecting the PD51 n. 14620 job announcement.
The application form must contain:
- a statement of research interests
- a curriculum vitae
- a list of publications
- 3 Reference letters
For further detailed information: please download the file
http://www.ac.infn.it/personale/borsedistudio/pdf/getfile.php?filename=1462…
or contact Nicola Bartolo, bartolo[AT]pd.infn.it, Dipartimento di Fisica "Galileo Galilei", via Marzolo, 8 - I−35131 Padova, Italy
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 2011 GWIC Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations
------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/31/2011-gwic-thesis-prize-call-for-nom…
Additional Information: https://gwic.ligo.org/thesisprize/
Nominations for the 2011 GWIC Thesis Prize are now open.
The Gravitational Wave International Committee (GWIC) was formed to promote international collaboration and cooperation in the construction, operation and use of gravitational wave detection facilities world-wide. To this end, GWIC has established an annual prize for the outstanding Ph.D. thesis based on research in gravitational waves (http://gwic.ligo.org/thesisprize/)
Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. The recipient will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of $1,000.
Since 2010, GWIC has an arrangement with Springer Publishing. Subject to qualifying criteria, the prize-winning thesis will be nominated for Springer Theses, a new book series in which exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences are published in their entirety. The winner will receive an additional €500 from Springer upon publication.
Eligibility: The award is made on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility.
Nominations: Nominations should be submitted to the selection committee chair (Neil Cornish, cornish[AT]physics.montana.edu) by 15 January 2012. The nomination package consists of (i) the thesis, (ii) a letter of nomination, preferably from the thesis advisor, and (iii) an optional supporting letter from another scientist familiar with the work. The nomination and supporting letters should describe the importance of the research and how it supports GWIC’s goals to promote construction and exploitation of gravitational-wave detectors, foster development of new or enhanced gravitational-wave detectors, and support the development of gravitational-waves as an astronomical tool. The thesis and letters may be submitted in electronic form (preferred) or in hard-copy (five copies).
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3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Entanglement Entropy of Black Holes"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/21/living-reviews-in-relativity-entang…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-8
Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Entanglement Entropy of Black Holes" by Sergey N. Solodukhin on October 21, 2011.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2011-8
Solodukhin, Sergey N.
"Entanglement Entropy of Black Holes"
ACCEPTED: 2011-08-23
PUBLISHED: 2011-10-21
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-8
ABSTRACT:
The entanglement entropy is a fundamental quantity which characterizes the correlations between sub-systems in a larger quantum-mechanical system. For two sub-systems separated by a surface the entanglement entropy is proportional to the area of the surface and depends on the UV cutoff which regulates the short-distance correlations. The geometrical nature of the entanglement entropy calculation is particularly intriguing when applied to black holes when the entangling surface is the black hole horizon. I review a variety of aspects of this calculation: the useful mathematical tools such as the geometry of spaces with conical singularities and the heat kernel method, the UV divergences in the entropy and their renormalization, the logarithmic terms in the entanglement entropy in four and six dimensions and their relation to the conformal anomalies. The focus in the review is on the systematic use of the conical singularity method. The relations to other known approaches such
as 't Hooft's brick wall model and the Euclidean path integral in the optical metric are discussed in detail. The puzzling behavior of the entanglement entropy due to fields which non-minimally couple to gravity is emphasized. The holographic description of the entanglement entropy of the black hole horizon is illustrated on the two- and four-dimensional examples. Finally, I examine the possibility to interpret the Bekenstein--Hawking entropy entirely as the entanglement entropy.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.3 New forthcoming relativity books by M. S. Berman
----------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/19/new-forthcoming-relativity-books-by…
Additional Information: https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=30375
"General Relativity and the Pioneers Anomaly"
This book is an introduction to the General Relativity Theory (GRT) and to the solution of the Pioneers Anomaly by means of relativistic cosmology, a study that is designed to be understood by undergraduate and graduate students alike in the fields of theoretical physics, applied mathematics and space engineering. In fact, this book is the first elementary account of GRT and cosmology to address the NASA problem, which consists of a specific deceleration suffered by two space-probes launched to outer space more than thirty years ago. The other two NASA anomalies, which are, the spin-down of the Pioneers, when they were not disturbed, and the "fly-by" of spacecraft in gravity assists, around the Earth, are explained by Berman, along with the linear deceleration, by the rotation of the Universe, and General Relativity theory.
Pub. Date: 2011 4th quarter
Author: Marcelo Samuel Berman (Instituto Albert Einstein/Latinamerica, Curitiba, Brazil)
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers, New York
ISBN: 978-1-62100-107-2
"Realization of Einstein's Machian Program"
This book is a solution of the so-called Einstein's Machian Program, that left Einstein very angry and frustrated, for he was unable to reconcile Relativity Theories with Ernst Mach ideas, that by looking into the Cosmos as a whole, absolute motion could be found. About one hundred years ago, the discussion led to no conclusions among physicists, so that now Berman found that the existence of a Universal rotation, was compatible with General Relativity, and that this rotation is "absolute". Berman thus solved the problem.
Author: Marcelo Samuel Berman (Instituto Albert Einstein/Latinamerica, Curitiba, Brazil).
Pub. Date: 2012 1st Quarter
publisher: Nova Science Publishers, New York
ISBN: 978-1-61942-164-6
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3.4 LIGO Open Data Survey
-------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/ligo-open-data-survey/
Additional Information: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFJuS1d4UlNiLW9Wdm5OQT…
Dear Astronomer,
Gravitational wave astronomy is coming, thanks to the LIGO and Virgo advanced detectors that will be online at or after 2015. The LIGO Scientific Collaboration will release open data to the broader community, including rapid alerts for follow-up observation, and the detected strain corresponding to astrophysical detections. In order to make the open data program most useful to astronomers, LIGO is asking you to fill in a survey about what you see as most important for us to support.
Please take a few minutes to fill in the survey on LIGO Open Data at the link below. You don't have to answer all the questions. We really appreciate your time and thoughts.
Thank you
Patrick Brady
Roy Williams
LIGO Scientific Collaboration
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3.5 Highlights and Conclusions of the Workshop "Warm Dark Matter in Galaxies: Theoretical and Observational Progresses"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/warm-dark-matter-in-galaxies-theore…
Additional Information: http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/Cias_Meudon2011.html
Ecole Internationale d'Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
"Warm Dark Matter in Galaxies: Theoretical and Observational Progresses",
Meudon Castle/CIAS of Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France, 8, 9 and 10 JUNE 2011
HIGHLIGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE WORKSHOP
We are pleased to inform you that the Highlights and Conclusions of the Chalonge Meudon Workshop 2011 on Warm Dark Matter in the Galaxies (48 pages, 24 figures including photos of the workshop) are available on the web site of this Workshop
http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/Cias_Meudon2011.html
ABSTRACT (Abridged):
Warm Dark Matter (WDM) research is progressing fast, the subject is new and WDM essentially works, naturally reproducing the astronomical observations over all scales: small (galactic) and large (cosmological) scales (LambdaWDM). Evidence that Cold Dark Matter (LambdaCDM) and its proposed tailored cures do not work at small scales is staggering.
Fedor Bezrukov, Pier-Stefano Corasaniti, Hector J. de Vega, Stefano Ettori, Frederic Hessmann, Ayuki Kamada, Marco Lombardi, Alexander Merle, Christian Moni Bidin, Angelo Nucciotti on behalf of the MARE collaboration, Sinziana Paduroiu, Henri Plana, Norma Sanchez, Patrick Valageas, Shun Zhou present here their highlights of the Workshop. LambdaWDM simulations with keV particles remarkably reproduce the observations, small and large structures and velocity functions. Cored DM halos and WDM are clearly determined from theory and astronomical observations, they naturally produce the observed structures at all scales. keV sterile neutrinos are the leading candidates, they naturally appear extensions of the standard model of particle physics. Astrophysical constraints including Lyman alpha bounds put its mass in the range 1< m <13 keV. Predictions for EUCLID and PLANCK have been presented. MARE and an adapted KATRIN experiment could detect a keV sterile neutrino. It will be a fan
tastic discovery to detect dark matter in a beta decay. A formidable WDM work to perform is ahead of us, these highlights point out some relevant research directions to put the effort. Photos of the Workshop are included.
We thank all again, both lecturers and participants, for having contributed so much to this Workshop and look forward to seeing you again in a next Meeting of this series.
With Compliments and kind regards
Norma G Sanchez,
Hector J de Vega
http://chalonge.obspm.fr
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3.6 Giulio Rampa Thesis Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematical or Numerical Relativity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/06/giulio-rampa-thesis-prize-for-outst…
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
A graduate of the University of Pavia, Giulio Rampa, in his short life, had a profound impact on his fellow students and the faculty of the Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics of the University of Pavia. Following his Master in Physics, he soon entered Graduate School at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam where he became deeply interested in mathematical relativity. Known for his remarkable personality as well as his outstanding intellectual capability, Giulio Rampa's life is celebrated through this prize honouring an outstanding Ph.D. Thesis in mathematical or numerical general relativity.
A net monetary prize of 2,000 EUR will be awarded every two years to a graduate student for outstanding research in mathematical or numerical general relativity. The prize has been established in 2011, and is endowed under the terms of a bequest from Nadia and Giorgio Rampa.
Any student who graduated in a university or research centre in Europe is eligible to be considered for this prize. European citizenship is NOT required. The prize recipient's Ph.D. Thesis must be submitted for consideration by a nominator, preferably via e-mail, to:
Secretariat of The Rampa Prize Committee,
c/o Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics,
Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy
e-mail: rampa.prize[AT]pv.infn.it
Self nominations will not be considered. It is the nominator's responsibility to ensure that his/her candidate submits the required documentation. In particular, all nominated applicants must submit, preferably by e-mail, the application form (available from the above address), a copy of the thesis, a letter of recommendation from their thesis advisor, one or more letters of endorsement substantiating the candidate contributions, thesis reader comments, a one-page abstract of the thesis, and a C.V. to the above address.
The following criteria are reviewed when selecting the Giulio Rampa prize recipient: (i) Originality of Contribution, (ii) Breadth of Work, (iii) Publications, (iv) Quality of Nomination, (v) Quality of Endorsement. The recipients of the prize are to be selected by a standing joint committee of the Graduate School in Physics of The University of Pavia and of The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), Potsdam.
The decisions of the Committee are final and will be communicated by May the 31st, 2012. The 2012 prize will be awarded to a Ph. D. Thesis submitted for consideration no later than January 31, 2012, on behalf of students who graduated between January 2010-December 2011.
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3.7 New focus issue on string cosmology free to read in CQG
-----------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/10/04/new-focus-issue-on-string-cosmology…
Additional Information: http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/20
Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to announce that the new Classical and Quantum Gravity (CQG) focus issue on string cosmology is now free to read online.
http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/20
This issue includes 10 specially invited papers from some of the top researchers in the field.
Guest Edited by Dr Vijay Balasubramanian and Professor Paulo Moniz, the focus issue appraises recent applications of string-theoretic and string-inspired ideas to the cosmos. The articles in this issue also survey a number of potentially promising directions for the future.
With best wishes,
Adam Day
Publisher
Classical and Quantum Gravity
iopscience.org/cqg
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02 Oct '11
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 Hot topics in Modern Cosmology – Spontaneous Workshop VI
1.2 21st Midwest Relativity Meeting (2nd Announcement)
2. Jobs
2.1 Postdoc position in theoretical physics at Bremen, Germany
2.2 Postdoc position in theoretical physics at Oldenburg, Germany
2.3 Caltech postdoctoral positions in theoretical aspects of gravitational-wave science
2.4 PhD positions in gravitational physics in Germany and Denmark
2.5 Associate Professor in Theoretical Physics in Norway
2.6 CITA Postdoctoral Fellows and National Fellows
2.7 Faculty position in theoretical astrophysics at the University of Illinois
2.8 Post-doc in Fundamental Gravitational Theory at Penn State
2.9 Postdoctoral position in GR, HEP, black-hole physics at Lisbon
2.10 Faculty position in Astrophysics at Purdue University
2.11 Tenure Track in Gravitational-wave Astronomy and Astrophysics at Cal State Fullerton
2.12 Post-doc position and PhD studentships in cosmology at University of Auckland
3. News
3.1 hyperspace@aei is two years old
3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "The Motion of Point Particles in Curved Spacetime" (update)
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 Hot topics in Modern Cosmology – Spontaneous Workshop VI
------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/22/hot-topics-in-modern-cosmology-spon…
Starting Mon, May 07, 2012 to Sat, May 12, 2012
Location: Cargèse, France
Additional Information: http://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~cosmo/SW_2012/SW6.html
Spontaneous Workshop (SW) brings together specialists on recent insights in Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology. The aim is to stimulate debates on common topics in views of providing us with innovating ideas. The workshop’s organization is based on an optimal number of concise presentations and enough space for discussions on emergent problems in order to favour interactions among participants.
The workshop will be organized on 7 - 12 May 2012, in Cargèse, France.
SW6 topics includes:
- Cosmological parameters – Anomalies in CMB
- Baryon and Lepton number violation, CP violation
- LHC and Dark Matter - Astroparticle Physics
- Neutrino Cosmology
- Baryogenesis and Leptogenesis - Cosmic antimatter
- Inflation - Dark Energy – Modified Gravity
- Cosmological Large Scale Structures, Magnetic Fields
- Gravitational waves of Cosmological and Astrophysical origin
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1.2 21st Midwest Relativity Meeting (2nd Announcement)
------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/12/21st-midwest-relativity-meeting-2/
Starting Fri, Nov 04, 2011 to Sat, Nov 05, 2011
Location: Urbana, IL, USA
Additional Information: http://conferences.physics.illinois.edu/midwestrelativity/
This is the Second Announcement for the 21st Midwest Relativity Meeting that will be held Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5, 2011 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The format of the meeting will follow previous regional meetings, where all participants may present a talk of approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on the total number of talks. We intend for the meeting to cover a broad range of topics in gravitation physics, including classical and quantum gravity, numerical relativity, relativistic astrophysics, cosmology, compact objects, gravitational waves and experimental gravity. As this is a regional meeting, many of the participants will be from the greater United States Midwest and Canada, but researchers and students from other areas are also welcome.
The registration deadline is October 14, 2011 and the scientific program will become available shortly after. To register, and for more information, visit the conference website.
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2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 Postdoc position in theoretical physics at Bremen, Germany
--------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/30/postdoc-position-in-bremen-germany/
Institution: Bremen, Germany
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.models-of-gravity.org
Open postdoc position
The DFG Research Training Group "Models of Gravity" invites applications for a
Postdoc position in Theoretical Physics, salary group (Entgeltgruppe) 13 TV-L, to be appointed on April 1st 2012. The position which is located at ZARM, University Bremen, is limited up to two years.
The Research Training Group consists of gravity groups working at the Universities of Bremen, Oldenburg, Bielefeld, Hannover, Copenhagen, as well as at the Jacobs University Bremen. We intend to obtain a better understanding of Einstein's General Relativity and of generalised theories of gravity as given by, e.g., string theory. These investigations are also related to observations. More information can be found on the website www.models-of-gravity.org
Responsibilities and Duties:
The successful applicant will have the opportunity to continue her/his academic career in theoretical physics in the area of gravitational physics. She/he is expected to contribute to the teaching programme of the Research Training Group.
Employment conditions:
The applicant is required to have a PhD in Mathematics or Physics and should have strong expertise in General Relativity and analytic methods applied to nonlinear problems.
The University Bremen aims, in particular, to promote women within the scope of the statutory provisions and, hence, emphatically invites qualified women to apply for this position. Severely disabled applicants are given preferential consideration in the event of equal qualification. Applicants with a migration background are highly welcome.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Claus Laemmerzahl.
Application:
The application with a curriculum vitae, certifications, a description of the scientific interest, a conception of the own career, and a list of publications should be sent as one single pdf document via e-mail to
Prof. Dr. Claus Laemmerzahl
ZARM
University Bremen
Phone: +49(0)421-218-8687
claus.laemmerzahl[AT]zarm.uni-bremen.de
www.zarm.uni-bremen.de/
Also two letters of reference should be sent. Closing date is November 15, 2011.
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2.2 Postdoc position in theoretical physics at Oldenburg, Germany
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/30/postdoc-position-in-oldenburg-germa…
Institution: Oldenburg
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.models-of-gravity.org
Open postdoc position
The DFG Research Training Group "Models of Gravity" invites applications for a
Postdoc position in Theoretical Physics, salary group (Entgeltgruppe) 13 TV-L, to be appointed on April 1st 2012. The position which is located at the University Oldenburg is limited up to two years.
The Research Training Group consists of gravity groups working at the Universities of Bremen, Oldenburg, Bielefeld, Hannover, Copenhagen, as well as at the Jacobs University Bremen. We intend to obtain a better understanding of Einstein's General Relativity and of generalised theories of gravity as given by, e.g., string theory. These investigations are also related to observations. More information can be found on the website www.models-of-gravity.org
Responsibilities and Duties:
The successful applicant will have the opportunity to continue her/his academic career in theoretical physics in the area of gravitational physics. She/he is expected to contribute to the teaching programme of the Research Training Group.
Employment conditions:
The applicant is required to have a PhD in Mathematics or Physics and should have strong expertise in General Relativity and numerical solutions of the Einstein field equations.
The University Oldenburg aims, in particular, to promote women within the scope of the statutory provisions and, hence, emphatically invites qualified women to apply for this position. Severely disabled applicants are given preferential consideration in the event of equal qualification. Applicants with a migration background are highly welcome.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Jutta Kunz.
Application:
The application with a curriculum vitae, certifications, a description of the scientific interest, a conception of the own career, and a list of publications should be sent as one single pdf document via e-mail to
Prof. Dr. Jutta Kunz
Department of Physics
Carl von Ossietzky-University Oldenburg
Phone: 0441-798-3184
jutta.kunz[AT]uni-oldenburg.de
http://www.physik.uni-oldenburg.de/
Also two letters of reference should be sent. Closing date is November 15, 2011.
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2.3 Caltech postdoctoral positions in theoretical aspects of gravitational-wave science
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/29/caltech-postdoctoral-positions-in-t…
Institution: Pasadena, CA, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.tapir.caltech.edu
CALTECH POSTDOCTORAL AND SENIOR POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS IN THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE SCIENCE, INCLUDING NUMERICAL RELATIVITY AND RELATIVISTIC ASTROPHYSICS
The California Institute of Technology invites applications for postdoctoral and senior postdoctoral appointments in theoretical aspects of gravitational-wave science.
These positions are for researchers in any of the three focus areas of our group:
1) NUMERICAL RELATIVITY and COMPUTATIONAL RELATIVISTIC ASTROPHYSICS
[Christian Ott, Mark Scheel, Bela Szilagyi] including a strong collaboration with the Cornell, CITA, and WSU groups. Systems and phenomena studied include compact binaries (BH/BH, NS/BH, NS/NS) as well as stellar collapse and supernova explosions.
2) GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE SOURCE ANALYSIS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND ASTROPHYSICS
[Yanbei Chen, Christian Ott, Sterl Phinney, Kip Thorne, Curt Cutler, Michele Vallisneri].
This effort has close ties to the Caltech theoretical astrophysics and observational astronomy programs, to the Caltech numerical relativity group, to the LIGO Laboratory, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and to the JPL gravitational-wave group.
3) GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE DETECTORS
[Yanbei Chen, Kip Thorne]
This involves the application of quantum measurement and quantum control theory to advanced gravitational-wave detectors, as well as the formulation of experimental tests of quantum mechanics that can be performed on these detectors. This research is carried out in collaboration or interaction with members of the LIGO Lab, and other Caltech research groups, including those led by H. Jeff Kimble and Michael Roukes, and the Caltech Institute for Quantum Information, http://www.iqi.caltech.edu, and the Moscow University research group of Vladimir Braginsky, Farid Khalili, Sergei Vyatchanin, Stefan Danilishin and Sergey Strigin.
These three research programs are embedded in Caltech's TAPIR group (Theoretical Astrophysics Including Relativity), http://www.tapir.caltech.edu and are associated with the Caltech/JPL Association for Gravitational WaveResearch, http://www.its.caltech.edu/~cajagwr/.
By a single application one can be considered for Caltech's Prize Postdoctoral Fellowships in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, including Relativity [see http://www.pma.caltech.edu/GSR/fellowtheory.html] and for regular postdoctoral and senior postdoctoral positions.
The application deadline is December 1, though late applications will continue to be considered until all positions are filled.
PLEASE SUBMIT APPLICATIONS VIA THE WEB at the following website, until that website closes: http://www.beatricia.caltech.edu/astro-theoretical/apply.html
Under Research Interests, please choose the button "Gravitational Physics" and/or "Astrophysics"
Later applications should be sent to JoAnn Boyd, joann[AT]tapir.caltech.edu.
Application materials should include curriculum vitae with email address and with citizenship indicated, bibliography of publications (with refereed articles identified), web locations of manuscripts not yet published, and a description of the desired research directions. Please ensure that at least three letters of recommendation are provided by the writers via the web at http://www.eas.caltech.edu/search/theo-astro/references before the website closes, or to joann[AT]tapir.caltech.edu afterwards.
Caltech is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans, and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.
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2.4 PhD positions in gravitational physics in Germany and Denmark
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/29/phd-positions-in-gravitational-phys…
Institution: Bremen, Oldenburg, Bielefeld - Germany
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.models-of-gravity.org
The DFG Research Training Group "Models of Gravity" invites applications for 11 positions
Research Assistant, Salary Group (Entgeltgruppe) 13 TV-L – 66%, to be appointed on April 1st 2012. The positions are limited up to three years.
The Research Training Group consists of gravity groups working at the Universities of Bremen, Oldenburg, Bielefeld, Hannover, Copenhagen, as well as at the Jacobs University Bremen. We intend to obtain a better understanding of Einstein's General Relativity and of generalised theories of gravity as given by, e.g., string theory. These investigations are also related to observations. More information can be found on the website http://www.models-of-gravity.org
Responsibilities and Duties:
The successful applicants will have the opportunity to work towards a doctoral degree in Gravitational Physics. They are expected to contribute to the teaching programme of the Research Training Group.
Employment conditions:
To qualify for the position, applicants must hold a Master's degree or a Diploma in Physics, Mathematics or any other relevant discipline, with an above-average success in the present courses of studies. For qualified candidates with a Bachelor's degree also a fast-track program is applicable. We expect high dedication and teamwork.
All participating universities aim, in particular, to promote women within the scope of the statutory provisions and, hence, emphatically invite qualified women to apply for these positions. Severely disabled applicants are given preferential consideration in the event of equal qualification. Applicants with a migration background are highly welcome.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Claus Laemmerzahl or Prof. Dr. Jutta Kunz.
Application:
The application with a curriculum vitae, certifications, a description of the scientific interest, a conception of the own career, and, if applicable, a list of publications should be sent as one single pdf document via e-mail to
Prof. Dr. Claus Laemmerzahl
ZARM
University Bremen
Phone: 0421-218-8687
claus.laemmerzahl[AT]zarm.uni-bremen.de
http://www.zarm.uni-bremen.de
or
Prof. Dr. Jutta Kunz
Institute for Physics
Carl von Ossietzky-University Oldenburg
Phone: 0441-798-3184
jutta.kunz[AT]uni-oldenburg.de
http://www.physik.uni-oldenburg.de/
Also two letters of reference should be sent. Closing date is November 15, 2011.
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2.5 Associate Professor in Theoretical Physics in Norway
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/28/associate-professor-in-theoretical-…
Institution: Stavanger, Norway
Deadline: Sun, Oct 23, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.uis.no/about_us/vacant_positions/article57556-88.html
The University of Stavanger invites applications for a position as Associate Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Science and Technology in the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, beginning 01.08.2012. The position is in Theoretical Physics.
The responsibilities comprise research, supervision, teaching, student assessment related to the field above and administration. The education required for the position is PhD in Theoretical Physics, or corresponding competence.
More information is available on the website.
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2.6 CITA Postdoctoral Fellows and National Fellows
--------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/26/cita-postdoctoral-fellows-national-…
Institution: Toronto; various universities in Canada
Deadline: Tue, Nov 15, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.cita.utoronto.ca
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
Postdoctoral research fellowships beginning September 1, 2012 are being offered at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA). A Ph.D. in any field of theoretical astrophysics is required. Fellows are expected to carry out original research in theoretical astrophysics under the general supervision of the permanent faculty whose interests include: Cosmology, interstellar matter, star and planet formation, solar physics, high energy astrophysics, numerical relativity and gravitational waves.
We only accept electronic submissions. Visit the CITA website at: http://www.cita.utoronto.ca for application instructions. Applicants will be asked to submit a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and arrange for three letters of recommendation. The deadline for applications and all letters of recommendation is November 15, 2011.
The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE POSITIONS
CITA is a national centre for theoretical astrophysics located at the University of Toronto. CITA expects to offer one or more Research Associate positions of three to five years duration. The start date will be September 1, 2012. Applicants should have an excellent research record in astrophysics and postdoctoral experience. Funds will be available for travel and other research expenses. The primary duty is to carry out original research in theoretical astrophysics, but Research Associates are also expected to work with postdoctoral fellows and to assist with the administration of the Institute. All applicants for these positions are also considered automatically for postdoctoral fellowships.
We only accept electronic submissions. Visit the CITA website at: http://www.cita.utoronto.ca for application instructions. Applicants will be asked to submit a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and arrange for three letters of recommendation. The deadline for applications and all letters of recommendation is November 15, 2011.
The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
This is an international search. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
NATIONAL POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
CITA is a national centre for theoretical astrophysics located at the University of Toronto. As part of its mandate to promote research throughout Canada, the Institute provides partial support for postdoctoral fellows working in theoretical astrophysics or closely related fields at Canadian universities other than the University of Toronto, through its National Fellows Program.
The responsibility for identifying and nominating potential CITA National Fellows who will work at a given university lies with the faculty at that university. Only faculty at Canadian universities may submit nominations. The deadline for these nominations November 15, 2011 for fellowships to start in September 2012. Please check with the nominating institution for their internal deadlines.
If you are interested in applying for National Fellowships at other universities in Canada, please contact any of the following faculty by email or check department websites for further research and application details:
Professor Alan Coley, Dalhouisie University (aac[AT]mathstat.dal.ca)
Professor Hough Couchman, McMaster University (couchman[AT]mcmaster.ca)
Professor Andrei Frolov, Simon Fraser University (http://www.sfu.ca/physics/cosmology/)
Professor Falk Herwig, University of Victoria (fherwig[AT]uvic.ca)
Professor Natasha Ivanova, University of Alberta (http://www.ualberta.ca/~ivanova1/)
Professor Luis Lehner, University of Guelph (llehner[AT]uoguelph.ca)
Professor Eric Poisson, University of Guelph (epoisson[AT]uoguelph.ca)
Professor Douglas Scott, University of British Columbia (http://www.astro.ubc.ca/citafellow.html)
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2.7 Faculty position in theoretical astrophysics at the University of Illinois
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/22/faculty-position-in-theoretical-ast…
Institution: Urbana, IL, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Additional Information: http://jobs.illinois.edu
The Department of Physics invites applicants for a full-time tenured and tenure-track position in theoretical astrophysics, with an emphasis on gravitation physics or cosmology. The start date is as early as August 16, 2012. A Ph.D., or equivalent, is required along with the ability to teach effectively at both undergraduate and graduate levels and to conduct a vigorous and significant research program in contemporary astrophysics. The successful applicant will be joining a department with active programs in both observational and theoretical astronomy and astrophysics. Salary will be competitive and rank will be commensurate with qualifications. For full consideration, applications should be received by December 1, 2011, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
To apply for this position, please create a candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a brief description of research and teaching interests and plans, and the names of three people who can provide letters of recommendation by December 1, 2011. Please contact Margie Gamel at 217-333-3762 or mgamel[AT]illinois.edu for further inquiries or questions.
Illinois is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity. (http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu)
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2.8 Post-doc in Fundamental Gravitational Theory at Penn State
--------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/20/post-doctoral-scholar/
Institution: University Park, PA, USA
Deadline: Sun, Dec 25, 2011
Additional Information: http://igc.psu.edu/index.php
The Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos expects openings for post-doctoral positions starting fall 2012 in the areas of cosmology, general relativity and quantum gravity. The initial appointment will be for one year and is expected to be renewed for another year subject to satisfactory progress and availability of funds. In exceptional cases it has been renewed also for a third year.
The gravitational theory group faculty consists of Abhay Ashtekar, Martin Bojowald, Murat Gunaydin, Radu Roiban and Sarah Shandera. In addition Professors Roger Penrose, Jerzy Lewandowski, Alejandro Corichi and Stephon Alexander hold visiting appointments at the Institute. Successful candidates will be encouraged to interact also with mathematicians in the Center for Fundamental Theory and with members of the Center for Theoretical and Observational Cosmology. During the current academic year, the Institute has approximately 20 post-docs (including Drs. Ivan Agullo, Marco Chiodaroli, Alok Laddha, Elena Magliaro, Przemyslaw Malkiewicz, William Nelson, Claudio Perini, Dmytro Volin in Fundamental Theory). For further information on the Institute, see http://www.gravity.psu.edu/
Current areas of research include loop quantum gravity, mathematical, conceptual as well as phenomenological issues in cosmology, black hole dynamics, interface of analytical and numerical quantum gravity, supergravity and gravitational aspects of string theory and non-commutative geometry. In particular, ideas from both loop quantum gravity and string theory are being applied to fundamental problems of cosmology, analysis of singularity resolution and the issue of information loss. More generally, the Institute provides a rare forum for stimulating exchanges of ideas between different approaches to quantum gravity.
Interested candidates should send a CV, a publication list and a statement of research interests/plans and arrange to have three recommendation letters sent directly to:
Mrs. Randi Neshteruk
IGC Post-Doc Applications
The Pennsylvania State University
104 Davey Lab #258
University Park, PA 16802-6300, USA
E-mail applications and letters of reference will be accepted provided the material is included as PDF file attachments. They should be sent to igc-applications[AT]gravity.psu.edu
The deadline for receipt of all application material is December 25, 2011. Penn State is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer
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2.9 Postdoctoral position in GR, HEP, black-hole physics at Lisbon
------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/20/postdoctoral-position-in-general-re…
Institution: Lisbon, Portugal
Deadline: Sat, Dec 31, 2011
Additional Information: http://blackholes.ist.utl.pt/
The Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofísica (CENTRA) invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the area of General Relativity, High Energy physics and black hole physics, including Numerical Relativity. The appointment is for two years, subject to funding renewal and satisfactory performance. Funds for one additional (third) year are possible.
A tentative date for the appointment is 1st Mar, 2012 (with possible variations to be agreed upon with the successful applicant). All candidates must hold a Ph.D. in Physics.
The Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofísica (CENTRA) is a research centre which is part of the Physics Department of the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, a leading research Institution in Portugal. More information on the Center can be found at
http://centra.ist.utl.pt/
The gravity group is currently focusing on phenomenology of black hole physics and high energy physics, and is composed of Vitor Cardoso, José Lemos and several Postdoctoral Fellows. More details can be found at
http://blackholes.ist.utl.pt/
The applicant is expected to contribute to the efforts of the group and to the training of students. Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a statement of research interests and three letters of recommendation to the following e-mail address:
jobs_gravity[AT]ist.utl.pt
Please use the subject "GR/HEP physics".
Applications should be received by Dec 31st, 2011. Incomplete applications shall not be considered. Screening of applicants will begin on Jan 1, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. For more information please contact Vitor Cardoso (vitor.cardoso[AT]ist.utl.pt). These positions are supported by European Research Council.
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2.10 Faculty position in Astrophysics at Purdue University
----------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/09/faculty-position-in-astrophysics/
Institution: West Lafayette, IN, USA
Deadline: Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Additional Information: https://www.physics.purdue.edu/searches/app/
The Department of Physics at Purdue University (http://www.physics.purdue.edu) seeks applications for a faculty position at the level of assistant professor in the area of astrophysics. Preference will be given to theorists or numerical astrophysicists. The current astrophysics program at Purdue has a strong focus on high energy astrophysics, covering a wide range of topics including pulsars, supernova remnants, microquasars, AGN, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, with observational efforts at radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths. Successful candidates are expected to develop a synergy with the current program while pursuing new directions. Purdue maintains excellent scientific computing research facilities on campus, and is a member of the XSEDE high performance computing consortium.
Applicants must have a Ph.D. in astrophysics or a related field, an outstanding record of research accomplishments, and evidence of potential excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Salary and benefits are highly competitive. Candidates are expected to develop vigorous research programs, supervise graduate students, and teach undergraduate and graduate courses. Interested candidates should submit their curriculum vitae, publication list, and brief descriptions of their planned research program and teaching philosophy. Electronic submission is preferred: https://www.physics.purdue.edu/searches/app/. At least three letters of recommendation should be sent to Astrophysics Search, Department of Physics, Purdue University, 525 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2036, USA. Applications completed by December 1, 2011 will be given full consideration, although the search will continue until the position is filled. A background check will be
required for employment in this position.
Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action employer and is committed to building a diverse faculty of excellence.
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2.11 Tenure Track in Gravitational-wave Astronomy and Astrophysics at Cal State Fullerton
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/07/gravitational-wave-astronomy-and-as…
Institution: Fullerton, CA, USA
Deadline: Mon, Oct 17, 2011
Additional Information: http://diversity.fullerton.edu/Jobs/physics_theoretical_gravitational_wave_…
The Physics Department at California State University, Fullerton invites applications for a tenure-track position in gravitational-wave astronomy and astrophysics with an emphasis on data analysis and/or source modeling for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and its international partners.
Appointment will be at the Assistant Professor level beginning August 2012. The successful candidate must indicate a strong commitment to excellence in teaching a diverse population of students and to curriculum development at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and will be expected to develop an active, externally-funded research program that includes close collaboration with the existing LIGO research group at CSUF and contributes to the development of our new Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy Center. The department offers both B.S. and M.S. degrees and is seeking a physicist who is able to involve undergraduate and Master’s level students in their research activities.
A Ph.D. in physics and a minimum of one year of postdoctoral experience (two years preferred) is required. Applications must include a curriculum vitae, an approximately 1500 word description of teaching experience and interests, an approximately 1500 word description of research plans and goals which includes start-up needs, and letters of recommendation from at least three references familiar with your research and teaching experience. Applications should be sent to: Chair, Search Committee, Department of Physics, California State University, Fullerton, PO Box 6850, Fullerton, CA 92834-6850. Review of completed applications will begin on Monday, October 17, 2011. Applications received after this date will be reviewed only if the position is not filled from the original pool of applicants. Cal State Fullerton is an Equal Opportunity/ Title IX/503/504/VEVRA/ADA Employer.
The announcement is posted on the CSUF campus website:
http://diversity.fullerton.edu/Jobs/Default.aspx
http://diversity.fullerton.edu/Jobs/physics_theoretical_gravitational_wave_…
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2.12 Post-doc position and PhD studentships in cosmology at University of Auckland
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/05/post-doc-position-and-phd-studentsh…
Institution: University of Auckland, New Zealand
Additional Information: http://bit.ly/qn63Lw
Richard Easther is moving to the University of Auckland at the end of 2011. He is setting up an early universe cosmology programme there, and is recruiting a post-doc and PhD student(s), commencing at any point in 2012.
The University of Auckland is New Zealand's largest university, and Auckland is a fantastic place to live.
Interested PhD candidates should contact Richard Easther directly (richard.easther[AT]yale.edu) -- note that New Zealand universities offer a "British style" research-based PhD, so candidates should either be ready for research, or prepared to undertake the necessary coursework before enrolling for the PhD.
Applications for the post-doc positions should be made at the following URL: http://bit.ly/qn63Lw
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 hyperspace@aei is two years old
-----------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/30/hyperspaceaei-is-two-years-old/
Dear all,
Two years have passed since the first bulletin of hyperspace@aei was broadcasted in September 2009. Since then we have delivered monthtly bulletins to an ever increasing mailing list of about 1500 subscribers, announcing about 175 job, 150 conferences and 80 news of different type.
As ever we try strive to improve hyperspace@aei and welcome your advice and suggestions.
Best wishes,
Luciano Rezzolla, Frank Schulz and Vera Osswald
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3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "The Motion of Point Particles in Curved Spacetime" (update)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/09/29/living-reviews-in-relativity-the-mo…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-7
Living Reviews in Relativity has published a major update of the review "The Motion of Point Particles in Curved Spacetime" by Eric Poisson, Adam Pound, and Ian Vega on September 29, 2011.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2011-7
Poisson, Eric and Pound, Adam and Vega, Ian
"The Motion of Point Particles in Curved Spacetime"
ACCEPTED: 2011-08-23
PUBLISHED: 2011-09-29
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-7
UPDATE NOTE:
This version of the review is a major update of the original article published in 2004. Two additional authors, Adam Pound and Ian Vega, have joined the article's original author, and each one has contributed a major piece of the update. The literature survey presented in Sections 2 was contributed by Ian Vega, and Part V (Sections 20 to 23) was contributed by Adam Pound. Part V replaces a section of the 2004 article in which the motion of a small black hole was derived by the method of matched asymptotic expansions; this material can still be found in Ref. [142], but Pound's work provides a much more satisfactory foundation for the gravitational self-force. The case study of Section 1.10 is new, and the ''exact'' formulation of the dynamics of a point mass in Section 19.1 is a major improvement from the original article. The concluding remarks of Section 24, contributed mostly by Adam Pound, are also updated from the 2004 article. The number of references has increased from
64 to 187.
ABSTRACT:
This review is concerned with the motion of a point scalar charge, a point electric charge, and a point mass in a specified background spacetime. In each of the three cases the particle produces a field that behaves as outgoing radiation in the wave zone, and therefore removes energy from the particle. In the near zone the field acts on the particle and gives rise to a self-force that prevents the particle from moving on a geodesic of the background spacetime. The self-force contains both conservative and dissipative terms, and the latter are responsible for the radiation reaction. The work done by the self-force matches the energy radiated away by the particle.
The field's action on the particle is difficult to calculate because of its singular nature: the field diverges at the position of the particle. But it is possible to isolate the field's singular part and show that it exerts no force on the particle – its only effect is to contribute to the particle's inertia. What remains after subtraction is a regular field that is fully responsible for the self-force. Because this field satisfies a homogeneous wave equation, it can be thought of as a free field that interacts with the particle; it is this interaction that gives rise to the self-force.
The mathematical tools required to derive the equations of motion of a point scalar charge, a point electric charge, and a point mass in a specified background spacetime are developed here from scratch. The review begins with a discussion of the basic theory of bitensors (Part I). It then applies the theory to the construction of convenient coordinate systems to chart a neighbourhood of the particle's word line (Part II). It continues with a thorough discussion of Green's functions in curved spacetime (Part III). The review presents a detailed derivation of each of the three equations of motion (Part IV). Because the notion of a point mass is problematic in general relativity, the review concludes (Part V) with an alternative derivation of the equations of motion that applies to a small body of arbitrary internal structure.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
1
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02 Sep '11
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 CompStar: the physics and astrophysics of compact stars
1.2 Essential Cosmology for the Next Generation 2012
2. Jobs
2.1 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology/Astroparticle Physics at University of Padova and INFN Padova
2.2 Postdoctoral position in Gravitational Wave Physics at the University of Roma Tor Vergata
3. News
3.1 New book - General Relativity Without Calculus
3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries"
3.3 Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011 awarded to John Mather
3.4 Read the latest CQG focus section on inhomogeneous cosmological models and averaging in cosmology
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 CompStar: the physics and astrophysics of compact stars
------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/31/compstar-the-physics-and-astrophysi…
Starting Mon, Jun 04, 2012 to Fri, Jun 08, 2012
Location: Tahiti, French Polynesia
Additional Information: http://compstar-esf.org/tahiti
Over the last decade, compact stars have been shown to be excellent tools to test fundamental properties of gravity and matter under extreme conditions. The new generation of space X-ray and gamma-ray observatories, as well as improvements in radio telescopes and interferometric techniques, are enabling new observations and break-through discoveries. Moreover, a large multinational effort has taken place in the last decade to build detectors, offering the exciting prospect of the detection of gravitational waves.
We are thus experiencing the blooming of Astro-Nuclear Physics, an exciting research area in which the physics of compact stars plays a fundamental role. While a part of this physics relies on theories that are well tested in terrestrial laboratories and requires in most of the cases developments at the forefront of modern physics, a good part of it is basically unknown in the regimes found in compact stars.
Unveiling this picture is a task made challenging by the multidisciplinary character of the problem, which requires expertise from historically independent disciplines, such as nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, gravitational and computational physics.
In the past four years, the European Science Foundation Research Networking Programme “CompStar - Physics of Compact Stars" has succeeded in bringing together the best European scientists in these fields, to reach a better understanding of the physics of compact stars. Presently, CompStar represents the reference European environment in which experts from different fields can collaborate, present their results and discuss the implications across disciplines. CompStar is now in its culminating stage and intends to extend this kind of network beyond Europe: the Tahiti 2012 conference is the first concrete action being taken to reach this ambitious goal. In order to mark a difference with the previous four CompStar European meetings, a venue was chosen which is geographically close to the different scientific communities we intend to interconnect: the French island of Tahiti, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is the symbolic hub of a network including the Americas, Japan, C
hina, Korea, India, Australia.
Following the spirit of CompStar, the conference will cover the
• physics of compact stars,
• astrophysics of compact stars,
• superdense matter,
• neutrino physics,
• astrochemistry,
• gravitational waves from compact stars, and
• supernova explosions.
Deadlines for registration
• early bird: September 1st, 2011 (very special flight offer), extended to September 9th, 2011
• ordinary: end 2011 (special flight offer)
• night owl: April 2012 (regular flights)
Deadline for abstract submission
• February 29th, 2012
David Blaschke, Pierre Pizzocchero, Luciano Rezzolla
(chairs of CompStar)
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1.2 Essential Cosmology for the Next Generation 2012
----------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/25/essential-cosmology-for-the-next-ge…
Starting Mon, Jan 16, 2012 to Fri, Jan 20, 2012
Location: Cancún, Mexico
Additional Information: http://bccp.lbl.gov/beach_program/index2012.html
This is the 4th annual "Cosmology on the Beach" meeting, combining a winter school with the latest research results. Course lectures blend with recent research advances in plenary talks, and student/postdoc participation. We encourage a diverse group of advanced graduate students and postdocs interested in attending to apply; established researchers enthusiastic about interacting are also welcome.
Organizers: Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics & Instituto Avanzado de Cosmologia Mexico
=================================================================
2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 Postdoctoral position in Cosmology/Astroparticle Physics at University of Padova and INFN Padova
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/31/postdoctoral-position-in-cosmologya…
Institution: Padova, Italy
Deadline: Sat, Oct 01, 2011
Additional Information: http://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/923
The INFN PD51 research group leading the Cosmology/Astroparticle program "Inflation, Dark Matter and the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe" announces one postdoctoral position in Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, to begin in Fall 2012. The position will be a 1 + 1 year appointment and reserved for non-Italian citizens.
The post-doc research activity will be mainly related to primordial non-Gaussianity and Inflationary models.
The following Institutes participating in the program may host the Fellowship:
- Padova INFN Section and University, Italy (main node)
- Ferrara INFN Section and University, Italy
- Bologna INFN Section and University, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and University of L’Aquila, Italy
- Roma Tor Vergata University, Italy
- Roma III University, Italy
- Torino University, Italy
- Trieste SISSA and University, Italy
The staff team members are:
Padova: Nicola Bartolo, Michele Liguori, Sabino Matarrese, Massimo Pietroni, Antonio Riotto.
Also present in Padova are:
Gianguido Dall'Agata, Ferruccio Feruglio, Antonio Masiero, Massimo Passera, Stefano Rigolin, Fabio Zwirner
Ferrara: Denis Comelli, Paolo Natoli
Bologna: Stefano Ettori, Fabio Finelli, Massimo Meneghetti, Lauro Moscardini
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and L’Aquila: Zourab Berejiani, Luigi Pilo, Francesco Villante
Roma Tor Vergata: Amedeo Balbi, Francesco Fucito, Nicola Vittorio
Roma III: Enzo Branchini
Torino: Antonaldo Diaferio, Luisa Ostorero
Trieste SISSA and University: Carlo Baccigalupi, Stefano Borgani, Stefano Cristiani, Samuel Leach, Paolo Tozzi, Matteo Viel
When applying, candidates should specify whether they want to be considered for only one or more Institutes.
For full consideration, applications should be received by October 1, 2011. Later applications might be considered until the position is filled.
Submit the following items
- Cover Letter
- Curriculum Vitae
- Research Statement
- Publication List
- Two or More Reference Letters
online at this website: http://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/923
Further Info:
Nicola Bartolo, Dipartimento di Fisica "Galileo Galilei", via Marzolo, 8-I-35131 Padova, Italy
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2.2 Postdoctoral position in Gravitational Wave Physics at the University of Roma Tor Vergata
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/02/postdoctoral-position-in-gravitatio…
Institution: Rome, Italy
Postdoctoral position in Gravitational Wave Physics at the University of Roma Tor Vergata (ref. 14538/11).
The Gravitational Wave Group at the University of Roma Tor Vergata invites applications for a two-year post-doctoral position in support of research in advanced interferometry for gravitational wave detectors.
The successful candidate will perform experimental/simulation work on the development and design of adaptive optical systems within the ongoing activity on the Thermal Compensation System for Advanced Virgo.
The Tor Vergata Gravitational Wave Group currently consists of faculty members (Eugenio Coccia, Viviana Fafone, Paolo Gorla, Yury Minenkov and Alessio Rocchi), four post-doctoral research assistants and one post-graduate student. The group has a broad research interest in gravitational-wave science, is member of the Virgo Collaboration, and has roles in the Einstein gravitational-wave Telescope Science Team. The group has excellent laboratory and computer facilities. The application form can be downloaded from:
http://www.ac.infn.it/personale/borsedistudio/pdf/getfile.php?filename=1453…
The deadline for application is 20th August 2011. Candidates must have a PhD in Physics, Astronomy, Engineering, Computing Science or equivalent by the date of the deadline. The candidates cannot be older than 33 years.
Documents to be attached to the application form:
- Curriculum vitae with list of publications;
- Certificate of Master Degree (with the final evaluation + scores for each course);
- Certificate of Ph.D. Degree;
Further useful information (e.g. previous contracts, support letters) can be included in the application.
For further information, informal enquiries or any help with filling up application forms (in Italian), please contact Prof. Viviana Fafone (viviana.fafone[AT]roma2.infn.it) or Prof. Eugenio Coccia (eugenio.coccia[AT]roma2.infn.it).
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 New book - General Relativity Without Calculus
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/31/new-book-general-relativity-without…
Additional Information: http://www.springer.com/physics/theoretical%2C+mathematical+%26+computation…
“General Relativity Without Calculus” offers a compact but mathematically correct introduction to the general theory of relativity, assuming only a basic knowledge of high school mathematics and physics. Targeted at first year undergraduates (and advanced high school students) who wish to learn Einstein’s theory beyond popular science accounts, it covers the basics of special relativity, Minkowski space-time, non-Euclidean geometry, Newtonian gravity, the Schwarzschild solution, black holes and cosmology. The quick-paced style is balanced by over 75 exercises (including full solutions), allowing readers to test and consolidate their understanding.
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3.2 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/30/living-reviews-in-relativity-coales…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-6
Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries" by Masaru Shibata and Keisuke Taniguchi on August 29, 2011.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
------------------
PUB.NO. lrr-2011-6
Shibata, Masaru and Taniguchi, Keisuke
"Coalescence of Black Hole-Neutron Star Binaries"
(incl. 30 figures and 232 references)
ACCEPTED: 2011-07-07
PUBLISHED: 2011-08-29
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-6
ABSTRACT:
We review the current status of general relativistic studies for the coalescence of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) binaries. First, procedures for a solution of BH-NS binaries in quasi-equilibrium circular orbits and the numerical results, such as quasi-equilibrium sequence and mass-shedding limit, of high-precision computation are summarized. Then, the current status of numerical-relativity simulations for the merger of the BH-NS binary is described. We summarize our understanding for the merger and/or tidal disruption process, the criterion for tidal disruption, the properties of the remnant formed after the tidal disruption, gravitational waveform, and gravitational-wave spectrum.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.3 Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011 awarded to John Mather
-----------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/02/daniel-chalonge-medal-2011-awarded-…
Additional Information: http://chalonge.obspm.fr
Ecole Internationale d'Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
The International Astrophysics School Daniel Chalonge has awarded the Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011 to Dr. John C. Mather, Nobel Laureate 2006 for the outstanding results of the COBE satellite, and present Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, Dr. John C. Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (College Park, Maryland, USA).
The medal was awarded to John Mather for his huge contribution to modern cosmology, in particular for his outstanding effort in promoting and leading key missions for the study of the Universe, as the COBE satellite and now the JWST, deeply discussed in the frame of the Chalonge School and the training and formation of young physicists and astrophysicists. He also contributed to ground observation programs leading advisory and working groups for the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, and the NSF (for the ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and for the CARA, the Center for Astrophysical Research in the Antarctic). As Senior Project Scientist for the JWST, John Mather successfully leads the science team, and represents the scientific interests within the project management.
The medal was presented to John Mather on 22th July 2011 during the Open Session of the 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011 at the Observatoire de Paris HQ (historic Perrault building) in the Cassini Hall, on the meridian of Paris, which was attended by about hundred participants from the world over, among them three laureate of the Chalonge Medal: George Smoot, Nobel laureate of physics, Anthony Lasenby and Peter Biermann. John Mather brilliantly presented the JWST Program, the large infrared-optimized space telescope planned to operate from 2018 as the best successor for the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. The Chalonge Medal represents too a warm acknowledgement and support to Dr. John Mather's present and future activities in the JWST.
The Chalonge Medal, coined exclusively for the Chalonge School by the prestigious Hotel de la Monnaie de Paris (the French Mint), is a surprise award and only eight Chalonge medals have been awarded in the 20 year school history.
The list of the awarded Chalonge Medals is the following:
1991: Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel prize of physics
1992: Bruno Pontecorvo
2006: George Smoot, Nobel prize of physics
2007: Carlos Frenk
2008: Anthony Lasenby
2008: Bernard Sadoulet
2009: Peter Biermann
2011: John Mather
Science with great intellectual endeavour and a human face. True and healthy science. Outstanding gentleperson scientists. Scientists recipients of the Daniel Chalonge Medal are Ambassadors of the School.
See the announcement, full history, photo gallery and links at: http://chalonge.obspm.fr
Click on "The Daniel Chalonge Medal 2011": http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Medal_Chalonge2011.pdf
and Archives Daniel Chalonge: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Archives_Daniel_Chalonge.html
One of the aims of the Chalonge School is to bring the attention to new programs which will produce a clearer and deeper understanding of the Universe with both innovative experiments and theory. During the 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011, the Chalonge School has made the following statement in support to the James Webb Space Telescope:
"The Ecole Internationale Daniel Chalonge considers that JWST is an exceptional opportunity for the future of astrophysics and astronomy worldwide. The Ecole Internationale Daniel Chalonge recognizes the outstanding scientific value of the JWST project, its potentiality and worldwide impact and strongly supports its development and successful completion."
Norma G. Sanchez (1), Héctor J. de Vega (2), Maria Cristina Falvella (3), Alba Zanini (4)
(1) Director of the International Daniel Chalonge School, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, France. (2) CNRS, University Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France. (3) Italian Space Agency HQ, Rome, Italy. (4) Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Turin, Italy
With compliments and kind regards,
Norma G. Sanchez, Hector J. de Vega
Ecole Chalonge <chalonge.ecole[AT]obspm.fr>
http://chalonge.obspm.fr
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3.4 Read the latest CQG focus section on inhomogeneous cosmological models and averaging in cosmology
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/08/02/read-the-latest-cqg-focus-section-i…
Additional Information: http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/16
CQG’s latest focus section on inhomogeneous cosmological models and averaging in cosmology is now available to read on the CQG website:
http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/16
The issue was edited by CQG Board Members Lars Andersson and Alan Coley.
The special section focuses on the physical state of the present universe and the problem of going beyond perturbation theory. The following topics are covered:
- a general overview and a discussion of the relevant issues;
- inhomogeneous cosmological models (including non-Copernican models);
- the current observations and physics of the universe and
- averaging and backreaction.
I would like to thank the guest editors and all of the authors and referees of the focus section for their contributions to this excellent issue of Classical and Quantum Gravity.
Yours sincerely
Adam Day
Publisher
Classical and Quantum Gravity
1
0
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Table of Contents
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1. Conferences
1.1 Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop (GWPAW)
1.2 LOFT Science Meeting
1.3 The 21st workshop on General Relativity and Gravitation in Japan (JGRG21)
1.4 South African Gravity Society Meeting 2011
1.5 Relativity and Gravitation - 100 Years after Einstein in Prague
2. Jobs
2.1 OG51 Theory Postdoc fellowship for non-Italians
2.2 International Relativistic Astrophysics PhD: 2nd call for 2011-2012
3. News
3.1 Presentations of the 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011
3.2 A Statement from the European LISA Study Team
3.3 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry" (major update)
3.4 Quantum Gravity: the first 25 years. Read the focus section published in Classical and Quantum Gravity.
=================================================================
1. Conferences
=================================================================
1.1 Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop (GWPAW)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/29/gravitational-wave-physics-and-astr…
Starting Mon, Jun 04, 2012 to Thu, Jun 07, 2012
Location: Hannover, Germany
GWPAW is the meeting formerly called GWDAW. It is a general meeting on the physics and astronomy of gravitational waves, techniques for their detection, and interpretation of data and results.
The meeting will be hosted by AEI Hannover, but held at the Novotel here: http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-5390-novotel-hannover/index.shtml. AEI has signed a contract for the meeting rooms and have also reserved a block of guest rooms at reasonable cost. People are welcome to make reservations at any time.
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1.2 LOFT Science Meeting
------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/17/loft-science-meeting/
Starting Wed, Oct 26, 2011 to Fri, Oct 28, 2011
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Additional Information: http://www.isdc.unige.ch/loft/index.php/meetings/loft-science-meeting
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is a newly proposed space mission that will answer fundamental questions about the motion of matter orbiting close to the event horizon of a black hole, and the state of matter in neutron stars. LOFT was recently selected by ESA as one of the four M3 mission candidates that will compete for a launch opportunity at the start of the 2020s.
During this assessment phase we need to make a full study of the exciting science that could be done with such a telescope, and solidify the relationship between the science goals and the technical requirements.
To do this, and to solicit full involvement from the wider astronomical community in this opportunity, there will be a LOFT Science meeting on October 26-28 this year at the Science Park in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There will be a mix of invited reviews, contributed talks, and discussion sessions, to ensure that innovative science ideas get full exposure. To register, and for more details, please see the meeting website:
http://www.isdc.unige.ch/loft/index.php/meetings/loft-science-meeting
We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam in October!
Anna Watts, on behalf of the international SOC
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1.3 The 21st workshop on General Relativity and Gravitation in Japan (JGRG21)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/13/the-21st-workshop-on-general-relati…
Starting Mon, Sep 26, 2011 to Thu, Sep 29, 2011
Location: Sendai, Japan
Additional Information: http://www.astr.tohoku.ac.jp/jgrg21/
Sakura Hall, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University
26-29 September 2011
There has been an impressive progress in astrophysical/cosmological observations in recent years. Cosmology has entered an era of precision science. Astrophysical black holes have been observed in many frequency bands with better resolutions and sensitivities. Observations of gamma-ray bursts have added a new mystery to relativistic astrophysics. And, a new frontier is waiting to be explored by gravitational wave interferometers. On the theoretical side, motivated by unified theories of fundamental interactions, especially string theory, many efforts have been made for studies of physics in 5-dimensional or higher dimensional spacetimes, and there is a growing interest in experimental verifications of extra dimensions. There have been also important and interesting developments in various other areas, including alternative theories of gravity, quantum gravity, and spacetime singularities, to mention a few. In this workshop, we plan to overview these recent developments and discuss future perspectives through invited and contributed presentations.
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1.4 South African Gravity Society Meeting 2011
----------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/11/south-african-gravity-society-meeti…
Starting Sun, Sep 11, 2011 to Tue, Sep 13, 2011
Location: Grahamstown, South Africa
Additional Information: http://www.ru.ac.za/mathematics/events/sags2011
The 2011 meeting of the South African Gravity Society will take place at Rhodes University, in Grahamstown, from the 11th to the 13th of September 2011.
Registration and abstract submission will be open from the 1st of June 2011 to the 15th of August 2011.
The following registration fees apply:
* Early registration (before 1st of August 2011): R650
* Late registration: R750.
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1.5 Relativity and Gravitation - 100 Years after Einstein in Prague
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/07/relativity-and-gravitation-100-year…
Starting Mon, Jun 25, 2012 to Fri, Jun 29, 2012
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Additional Information: http://ae100prg.mff.cuni.cz
At the beginning of April 1911 Albert Einstein arrived in Prague to become full professor of theoretical physics at the German part of Charles University. It was there, for the first time, that he concentrated primarily on the problem of gravitation. Before he left Prague in July 1912 he had submitted the paper “Relativität und Gravitation: Erwiderung auf eine Bemerkung von M. Abraham” in which he remarkably anticipated what a future theory of gravity should look like.
At the occasion of the Einstein-in-Prague centenary we organize an international meeting:
"Relativity and Gravitation - 100 Years after Einstein in Prague"
June 25 – 29, 2012, Prague, Czech Republic
The main topics of the conference will include
• Mathematical relativity
• Numerical relativity
• Relativistic astrophysics
• Relativistic cosmology
• Quantum gravity
• Gravitation and experiment
• Conceptual and historical issues
The conference is organized under the auspices of the Rector of Charles University. The lectures will take place in the historical complex of the University in the heart of Prague’s Old Town.
The Scientific Organizing Committee includes Marek Abramowicz, Lars Andersson, Abhay Ashtekar, Julian Barbour, Jiří Bičák, Roger Blandford, Bernd Brügmann, Piotr Chruściel, Thibault Damour, Karsten Danzmann, Fernando De Felice, George Ellis, John Friedman, Helmut Friedrich, Valeri Frolov, Gary Gibbons, Gary Horowitz, Joseph Katz, Karel Kuchař, Jerzy Lewandowski, Malcolm MacCallum (to be confirmed), Gernot Neugebauer, Hermann Nicolai, Igor Novikov, Martin Rees, Oscar Reula, Luciano Rezzolla, Misao Sasaki, Gerhard Schäfer, Bernd Schmidt, Alexei Starobinsky, Paul Tod, Robert Wald, Clifford Will.
The program will be centered on invited lectures; it will also include contributed oral and poster presentations. We will reserve time for cultural events and sightseeing (e.g., places associated with Einstein, Mach, Doppler, Kepler, and Brahe). We are considering the publication of proceedings in a scientific journal. Anticipated attendance is 120-150 participants.
Jiří Bičák (on behalf of SOC and LOC)
=================================================================
2. Jobs
=================================================================
2.1 OG51 Theory Postdoc fellowship for non-Italians
---------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/29/og51-theory-postdoc-fellowship-for-…
Institution: Italy, various locations
Deadline: Fri, Sep 30, 2011
Additional Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/808
The theory group OG51 announces one postdoctoral position for non-Italian citizens.
The research program regards the modeling of gravitational wave sources, with particular reference to gravitational wave emission during the early stages of neutron stars life, and to the associated neutrino processes.
Research will be carried on at one of the following Institutes:
- Department of Physics, "Sapienza" University of Rome
- Department of Physics, University of Catania
- S.I.S.S.A., Trieste
- Departiment of Physics, University of Parma
- Departiment of Physics, University of Milano Bicocca
- Department of Physics, University of Torino
- Department of Physics, University of Ferrara.
The winner of the position can choose one these institutions. The team members are:
- Rome: Valeria Ferrari, Leonardo Gualtieri, Omar Benhar
- Catania: Fiorella Burgio, Hans-Joseph Schultze
- S.I.S.S.A.: John Miller
- Parma: Roberto De Pietri
- Milano: Francesco Haardt
- Torino: Angelo Tartaglia
- Ferrara: Pierluigi Fortini
The initial appointment will be for 1 year, renewable for a second year. For full consideration, applications should be received by Sept. 30, 2011. Later applications might be considered until the position is filled.
Application must be submitted through the website https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/808
For more information contact Leonardo Gualtieri leonardo.gualtieri[AT]roma1.infn.it
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2.2 International Relativistic Astrophysics PhD: 2nd call for 2011-2012
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/27/international-relativistic-astrophy…
Institution: several universities in ICRANET
Deadline: Fri, Sep 30, 2011
Additional Information: http://www.irap-phd.org/
9 Erasmus Mundus funded positions available (3 for European students, 5 for non-European students, 1 for “Western Balkans and Turkey Window” candidates)
Deadlines: 30 September 2011
Additional Information: http://www.irap-phd.org – http://www.icranet.org – http://www.icra.it
Following the successful scientific space missions by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, as well as the high energy particle activities at CERN in Genève, we have initiated a Ph.D. programme dedicated to create a pool of scientists in the field of relativistic astrophysics. After taking full advantage of the observational and experimental facilities mentioned above, the students of our programme are expected to lead the theoretical developments of one of the most active fields of research: relativistic astrophysics. This program provides expertise in the most advanced topics of mathematical and theoretical physics, and in relativistic field theories, in the context of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. It provides the ability to model the observational data received from the above laboratories. This activity is necessarily international as no single university can have a scientific expertise in such a broad range of fields.
The Erasmus Mundus program has a very competitive salary as well as comprehensive benefits.
The Institutions participating in the IRAP PhD are: the international organization ICRANet as coordinating institution and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis as the host Institution; the Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam; the Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF) and ICRA Brasil; the Free University of Berlin; Indian Centre for Space Physics, Kolkata; Observatoire de la Cote D’Azur, Nice; Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China; University of Ferrara, Italy; University of Rome, la Sapienza, Italy; University of Savoie, Annecy, France; University of Stockolm, Sweden, Tartu Observatory , Estonia. The Final Ph.D. degree will be jointly delivered by the Academic Institutions participating in the program. We encourage applications from the most qualified and motivated candidates worldwide, independent of nationality, gender or background. Special attention will be given to applicants originating from or planning to move to countries where ICRANet activities are in action or being planned.
The Courses: Each student will have to follow 180 hours of courses during the three years of the Ph.D. program. There is also a possibility to follow courses from other Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrophysics Ph.D. programs in each participating institution, after approval by the Faculty. Courses can be chosen from the following list:
VERY HIGH ENERGY PHENOMENA IN ASTROPHYSICS Felix AHARONIAN
COSMOLOGICAL SINGULARITY Vladimir BELINSKI
RELATIVISTIC EFFECTS IN ASTROPHYSICS Carlo Luciano BIANCO
OBSERVERS AND OBSERVABLES IN BLACK HOLES SPACETIME Donato BINI
ACCRETIONS ON BLACK HOLES Sandip Kumar CHAKRABARTI
PARTICLE PHYSICS APPLIED TO ASTROPHYSICS Pascal CHARDONNET
GENERAL RELATIVITY Thibault DAMOUR
SUPERNOVAE AND GRBS Massimo DELLA VALLE
LARGE SCALE STRUCTURE Jaan EINASTO
TOPICS IN COSMOLOGY AND PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS Li Zhi FANG
X/GAMMA-RAY INSTRUMENTATION Filippo FRONTERA
HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS: X-RAYS CLUSTERS Riccardo GIACCONI
OBSERVATIONS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS Cristiano GUIDORZI
FORMATION OF GALAXIES Yipeng JING
ON THE KERR SOLUTION Roy KERR
RELATIVISTIC FIELD THEORIES Hagen KLEINERT
HOLOGRAPHY, ENTROPIC GRAVITY AND COSMOLOGY Li MIAO
BOUNCING COSMOLOGY Mario NOVELLO
BKL COSMOLOGY AND HIDDEN SYMMETRIES Hermann NICOLAI
THE HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY UNIVERSE Marco TAVANI
SPECTRAL TIMING FROM BLACK HOLE SOURCES Lev TITARCHUK
SINGULARITIES AND GENERAL RELATIVITY – Kjell ROSQUIST
BLACK HOLES AND FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS Remo RUFFINI
RELATIVISTIC KINETIC THEORY Gregory VERESHCHAGIN
QED AND ELECTRON-POSITRON PLASMA She-Sheng XUE
The Host Institution for the call of 2011-2012 is the Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis; Grand Château 28 Avenue Valrose 21 – B.P. 2135 – 06103 NICE CEDEX 2
Applications and Fellowships:
In the call of September 30, 2011 nine additional fellowships will be available: six with full financial support. See http://www.icra.it and http://www.icranet.org. For further Information please contact: Dr. Carlo Luciano Bianco tel. + 39 06 4991 4 397, secretariat-irapphd[at]icra.it; Dr. Pina Barbaro Université de Nice- Parc Valrose 06108 Nice Cedex, Pina.Barbaro[at]unice.fr
The Faculty
Giovanni Amelino-Camelia – SAPIENZA Università di Roma
Vladimir Belinski – SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet
Carlo Luciano Bianco – SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet
Donato Bini – CNR – Istit. per Applicaz. del Calcolo “M. Picone”
Sandip Kumar Chakrabarti – Indian Centre For Space Physics, India
Pascal Chardonnet (Erasmus Mundus Coordinator) – Université de Savoie
Christian Cherubini – Università “Campus Biomedico” di Roma
Pierre Coullet – Université de Nice – Sophie Antipolis
Thibault Damour – IHES, Bures-sur-Yvette
Jaan Einasto – Tartu Observatory
Simonetta Filippi – Univ.“Campus Biomedico” di Roma and ICRANet
Sergio Frasca – SAPIENZA Università di Roma
Filippo Frontera – Università di Ferrara
Yipeng Jing – Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China
Hagen Kleinert – Freie Universitat Berlin
Gian Luca Lippi – Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis
Francois Mignard – Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Hermann Nicolai – Max Planck Inst. for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam
Mario Novello – Brazilian Centre For Physics Research, Brazil
José Pacheco – Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Kjell Rosquist – Stockolm University
Remo Ruffini (Director) – SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet
Farrokh Vakili – Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Gregory Vereshchagin – SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet
Xue She Sheng – SAPIENZA Università di Roma and ICRANet
=================================================================
3. News
=================================================================
3.1 Presentations of the 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------
Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/27/presentations-of-the-15th-paris-cos…
Additional Information: http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2011.html
Ecole Internationale d'Astrophysique Daniel Chalonge
The 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011`From Cold Dark Matter to Warm Dark Matter in the Standard Model of the Universe: Theory and Observations'. 20 Years of Activity.
20, 21 and 22 JULY 2011 Paris Observatory (HQ), historic Perrault building, Paris, France
We are pleased to inform you that the presentations by the lecturers during the 15th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2011 are available on line (in pdf format) in "Programme and Lecturers .pdf " in the www site of this Colloquium
http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/colloque2011.html
http://www.chalonge.obspm.fr/Programme_Paris2011.html
Contents:
- The Standard Model of the Universe: CMB present status. PIXIE CMB project
- Inflation Effective theory, predictions and observations, Planck results, Atacama Cosmology Telescope.
- Last results from Herschel: interstellar medium Initial Mass Function, structures and filaments, Herschel-SPIRES cosmology
- Large scale flows. Astrophysical black holes, Re-ionization
- Observations of Dark matter on small astrophysical scales, cored density profiles and small baryon feedback
- Warm Dark Matter (WDM): Cosmological, astrophysical, numerical and keV particle WDM candidates, sterile neutrinos: theory and observations, neutrino masses and mixing, Neutrinoless Beta decay. Mare and Katrin experiments.
- Astrophysical origin of the positron excess in cosmic rays. Helioseismology and Dark Matter
Open Special Session:
- The Ultra Fast Flash Observatory UFFO
- The James Webb Space Telescope JWST
The photographs of the Colloquium capturing moments of the stimulating and outstanding atmosphere created by all lecturers and participants during the Colloquium and Open Session will be posted soon in this www site.
Norma G Sanchez, Hector J de Vega
http://chalonge.obspm.fr
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3.2 A Statement from the European LISA Study Team
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/21/a-statement-from-the-european-lisa-…
Due to the recent adjustment in how L-class missions within the Cosmic Vision framework are chosen, ESA is currently investigating a design for a European-led variant of LISA that can be launched before 2022.
After studying several configurations, a new baseline has been identified that will be refined in the coming month with the help of European industry. The new baseline simplifies the design of LISA, reducing the distance between the satellites and employing only four instead of previously six laser links.
The science team and a science task force, composed of members of the gravitational wave and astrophysics communities in both Europe and the US, have assessed the scientific validity of the new baseline for the fields of physics, astrophysics and cosmology and have shown that the new configuration is very promising regarding sources such as galactic binaries, (super)massive black hole and extreme mass ratio inspirals.
Over the next few months, this work will continue until we have a finalised mission proposal by the fall of 2011. The near future is very bright for astrophysics and cosmology using observations of gravitational waves in space.
(Posted on behalf of the team by Bernard Schutz, 21.07.2011)
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3.3 Living Reviews in Relativity: "Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry" (major update)
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/11/living-reviews-in-relativity-gravit…
Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-5
Today, Living Reviews in Relativity has published a major update of the review "Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry (Ground and Space)" by Matthew Pitkin, Stuart Reid, Sheila Rowan, and Jim Hough.
Please find the abstract and further details below.
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PUB.NO. lrr-2011-5
Pitkin, Matthew, Reid, Stuart, Rowan, Sheila and Hough, James
"Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry (Ground and Space)"
ACCEPTED: 2011-06-17
PUBLISHED: 2011-07-11
FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2011-5
UPDATE:
There have been minor updates to Sections 1, 2 and 3; major updates to Sections 4 and 5; Section 6 has been renamed and includes entirely new material on the operation of, and results from, the first generation of gravitational wave detectors and upgrades that are under way; and Section 7 also includes major updates about the status of LISA. The number of references has increased from 110 to 324.
ABSTRACT:
Significant progress has been made in recent years on the development of gravitational-wave detectors. Sources such as coalescing compact binary systems, neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries, stellar collapses and pulsars are all possible candidates for detection. The most promising design of gravitational-wave detector uses test masses a long distance apart and freely suspended as pendulums on Earth or in drag-free spacecraft. The main theme of this review is a discussion of the mechanical and optical principles used in the various long baseline systems in operation around the world - LIGO (USA), Virgo (Italy/France), TAMA300 and LCGT (Japan), and GEO600 (Germany/U.K.) - and in LISA, a proposed space-borne interferometer. A review of recent science runs from the current generation of ground-based detectors will be discussed, in addition to highlighting the astrophysical results gained thus far. Looking to the future, the major upgrades to LIGO (Advanced LIGO), Virgo (Advanced Virgo), LCGT and GEO600 (GEO-HF) will be completed over the coming years, which will create a network of detectors with the significantly improved sensitivity required to detect gravitational waves. Beyond this, the concept and design of possible future "third generation" gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET), will be discussed.
UPCOMING ARTICLES AT:
http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html
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3.4 Quantum Gravity: the first 25 years. Read the focus section published in Classical and Quantum Gravity.
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Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI:
http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2011/07/05/quantum-gravity-the-first-25-years-…
Additional Information: http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/15
We invite you to read-for-free the CQG focus section reviewing 25 years of quantum gravity research.
http://iopscience.iop.org/0264-9381/28/15
This issue features 2 invited review articles from physicists who have been associated with String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity from their inception. They were invited to write a retrospective review: What were the initial hopes? To what extent have these hopes been realised? What were the major successes, surprises, disappointments? The emphasis is on what has come OUT of the program rather than technical developments internal to the program. We hope that the reader, whatever her persuasion, will be able to form a panoramic view of quantum gravity research today within these two programmes.
Yours sincerely
Joseph Samuel
Editorial Board Member
Classical and Quantum Gravity
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