########################################### Table of Contents ########################################### 1. Conferences 1.1. Alternative Gravities and Fundamental Cosmology, Szczecin, Poland 1.2. 2020 Computer Aided Modeling, Simulation and Analysis, Cagliari, Italy 1.3. Black Hole Perturbation Toolkit Workshop, Prague, Czech Republic 1.4. Quantum Gravity 2020, Waterloo, Canada (second announcement) 1.5. GW and Machine Learning Meeting, Mull, UK 1.6. New frontiers in strong gravity, Benasque, Spain 1.7. Cosmography via Gravitational Waves and Other Observables, Stavanger, Norway 1.8. Gravitex 2020: International Conference on Gravitation- Theory and Experiment, Durban, South Africa 1.9. 10th Int. Conf. DICE 2020: Spacetime - Matter - Quantum Mechanics, Castiglioncello, Italy 1.10. Fourth Argentine-Brazilian Meeting on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1.11. 19th Conference on Recent Developments in Gravity, Athens, Greece (final announcement) 2. Jobs 2.1. Postdoctoral Fellowship on Gravitational Waves and Strong Gravity beyond GR, Cape Town, South Africa 2.2. Gravitational Waves Postdoc position at IGFAE, Santiago de Compostela, Spain 2.3. Postodoc position in discretized models of quantum gravity, Krakow, Poland 2.4. Two PhD positions in neutron star physics at Coimbra and Lisbon, Portugal 2.5. Expression of Interest, Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics, Canberra, Australia 2.6. Tenure-Track Position in Gravitational Astrophysics, Canberra, Australia 3. News 3.1. THE CHALONGE DE VEGA PROGRAMME 2020 3.2. Special Issue of Symmetry on "Numerical Relativity and Gravitational Wave" 3.3. Call for papers: "Binary Neutron Star mergers" ============================================== 1. Conferences ============================================== 1.1. Alternative Gravities and Fundamental Cosmology, Szczecin, Poland --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=16973 Starting: 2020-09-14 to 2020-09-18 Location: Szczecin, Poland Additional Information: https://indico.cern.ch/event/873762/ Contact: altecosmo20[AT]gmail.com Dear Colleagues, We invite you to take part in the conference "Alternative Gravities and Fundamental Cosmology" which will take place in Szczecin, Poland from 14th to 18th of September 2020. This is the fifth of a series of conferences on fundamental cosmology organized by the Szczecin Cosmology Group, University of Szczecin (after Cosmofun'2005, Grasscosmofun'09, Multicosmofun'12, Varcosmofun'16). The task of the conference is to bring together specialists dealing with the problems of alternative gravities (including quantum gravity, superstring, varying constants, Lorentz violating etc.) both from theoretical and observational point of view. The program of the conference will contain 4 plenary morning sessions and 3 afternoon parallel sessions (of 3 sessions each), 1 morning doctoral students' session (up to 3 parallel sessions). The last afternoon of the conference will be devoted to philosophical aspects of cosmology. There will also be a poster session if the number of abstracts is above our talk time capabilities. The oral presentations will be selected by the sessions conveners in collaboration with the Scientific Committee. We plan to publish conference proceedings in the journal "Universe". Invited speakers: - Niayesh Ashfordi, Univ. Waterloo, Canada - John D. Barrow, Univ. Cambridge, UK - Eleonora Di Valentino, Jodrell Bank, USA - Astrid Eichhorn, Univ. Odense, Denmark - Ivette Fuentes, Univ. Nottingham, UK - Enrique Gaztanaga, ICE, CSIC Barcelona, Spain - Lavinia Heisenberg, ETH Zurich, Switzerland - Michael Heller, Vatican Astronomical Observatory - Martin Kunz, Univ. Geneva, Switzerland - David Mota, Univ. Oslo, Norway - Fabio Scardigli, Univ. Leiden, Netherlands - Alexei Starobinsky, Landau Institute, Moscow, Russia - John Webb, Univ. New South Wales, Australia Topics of parallel sessions: - I. Alternative gravities and dark energy (ALT-DE); - II. Alternative gravities and dark matter (ALT-DM); - III. Alternative gravities for gravitational waves/black holes (ALT-GW/BH); - IV. Quantum gravity as alternative gravity (ALT-QG); - V. Alternative gravity phenomenology (GUP, Lorentz Violation, Varying Constants); - VI. Alternative gravity and fundamental theories (strings, branes). Looking forward to seeing you in Szczecin. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.2. 2020 Computer Aided Modeling, Simulation and Analysis, Cagliari, Italy --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=16982 Starting: 2020-07-01 to 2020-07-04 Location: Cagliari, Italy Additional Information: http://www.iccsa.org Contact: shen[AT]umich.edu 2020 Computer Aided Modeling, Simulation and Analysis (CAMSA) in conjunction with The 20th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications July 1st - 4th, 2020, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. Organizer: Jie Shen, University of Michigan Email: shen[AT]umich.edu Jiwen Li and Wei Liu, Henan University of Science and Technology This workshop will provide a forum for scientists and engineers alike to present their latest findings on the subject of computer aided modeling, simulation and analysis. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Computer aided modeling and analysis (novel algorithms or applications in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and mechanics) * Data processing, mining, and fusion * Optimization and machine learning * Finite Element, Boundary Element, or Meshless Simulation * Computer Vision and Image Processing Publication * General Tracks/Theme Papers: 10 to 16 pages. After the reviewing process, the accepted papers will be published in the Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) volumes. * Workshop/Session Papers: 5 to 11 pages. After the reviewing process, the accepted papers will be published by Conference Publishing Services (CPS), as selected by the corresponding Session/Workshop. The list and details of the different Workshops/Sessions can be found through this link: http://www.iccsa.org/workshops * Poster Session Papers: 3 to 4 pages. After the reviewing process, the accepted poster papers will be published by the Conference Publishing Services (CPS). Accepted Poster papers will be presented as posters during the conference. * Short papers may also be extended for possible publication in the International Journal of Modelling and Simulation (ISSN: 0228-6203). Paper Submission Submission Website: http://ess.iccsa.org Deadline for Full Paper Submission: March 15, 2020 Author Paper Review Acceptance or Revision Notification to Author: April 01, 2020 Submission of Final Paper: May 25, 2020 CAMSA 2020 Conference: July 1-4, 2020 Weblink: http://ess.iccsa.org/ H-5 Index: 19 Proceedings indexed by IEEE, a top conference +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.3. Black Hole Perturbation Toolkit Workshop, Prague, Czech Republic --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/10/black-hole-perturbation-toolk... Starting: 2020-05-25 to 2020-05-27 Location: Prague, Czech Republic Additional Information: http://astro.cas.cz/bhptoolkit2020/ Contact: niels.warburton[AT]ucd.ie The Black Hole Perturbation Toolkit (BHPToolkit) is a global collaboration dedicated to creating an open-source repository of software, data and results related to black hole perturbation theory. These tools are important in the theory of gravitational waves, specifically in the modelling of inspirals of stellar-mass objects into massive black holes. The BHPToolkit workshops bring together researchers that are already using and developing the Toolkit as well as scientists and students that are looking to do so. The first public BHPToolkit workshop will take place at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague from 25th to 27th of May. Registration is free and we have a small amount of funding available to support the travel of PhD/MSc students coming to the workshop. To apply for financial support please send an email to vojtech.witzany at asu.cas.cz in which you briefly describe your motivation, and please ask your supervisor to also send a short supporting email. Both the motivation and supporting statement need to be received before April 1, 2020, and we will inform you of our decision during the first week of April. On the first day of the workshop there will be a series of invited practical short talks to demonstrate how to install and use various packages already in the Toolkit. The second and third days will concentrate on improving the BHPToolkit with a focused "hack-a-thon" as well as discussion around how to manage and grow the Toolkit. The BHPToolkit workshop, including the travel support, is funded by the GWverse COST Action CA16104 Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.4. Quantum Gravity 2020, Waterloo, Canada (second announcement) --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=16999 Starting: 2020-07-13 to 2020-07-17 Location: Waterloo, Canada Additional Information: https://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/conferences/quantum-gravity-2020 Contact: eichhorn[AT]cp3.sdu.dk Registration and abstract submission deadline: The deadline to register for Quantum Gravity 2020 is April 30, 2020. Registration will close before this date if capacity is met. A limited number of talk slots will be open to online registrants. if you are interested in presenting a talk, you must register by March 20, 2020. Conference description: The conference "Quantum Gravity 2020" has a deliberately broad scope. We aim to include participants from all current approaches to quantum gravity, as well as researchers working on the phenomenology of quantum gravity. The main goal of the meeting is to assess the progress made and to constructively and openly discuss open questions in our understanding of quantum gravity. A second goal is to work towards combining the insights gained in the various approaches. In its overall goal as well as the format, this conference will differ from more specialized meetings that focus on specific quantum-gravity approaches. We hope that this inaugural conference "Quantum Gravity" can make a contribution to bridging the gaps between quantum gravity approaches, and bring the entire community together for a constructive and fruitful exchange. Registration for the conference is now open on the conference webpage. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.5. GW and Machine Learning Meeting, Mull, UK --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=17004 Starting: 2020-05-04 to 2020-05-06 Location: Tobermory, Mull, United Kingdom Additional Information: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/gwmull2020/ Contact: gwmull2020[AT]glasgow.ac.uk The Institute for Gravitational Research at the University of Glasgow will be hosting a retreat meeting between 4 and 6 May 2020 in Tobermory, on the Scottish Hebridean island of Mull. The meeting will have three major strands focussed on the use and development of machine learning techniques for gravitational wave data analysis: 1. ML in modelling, numerical relativity, and waveform generation 2. ML for GW detection and detector characterisation 3. ML for parameter estimation and astrophysics If you would like to attend this event we'd be grateful if you could fill out the form on our website as soon as possible. The venue for the meeting is small, and we anticipate that demand will be high, so the meeting will be by application only, however we invite participants at all stages in their academic career, from students upwards to register their interest, and hope to have a balanced range of participants. The registration for will be open until 20 February, and we hope to start issuing invitations to register shortly after this. We expect the meeting to have a per-person cost of no more than around 200 GBP, and hope to be able to provide a discount to students. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.6. New frontiers in strong gravity, Benasque, Spain --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/17/new-frontiers-in-strong-gravi... Starting: 2020-07-05 to 2020-07-18 Location: Benasque, Spain Additional Information: http://benasque.org/2020relativity/ Contact: info[AT]benasque.org This is the first circular for the conference "New frontiers in strong gravity" taking place in Benasque, Spain from Jul 05-18, 2020. The workshop's web page is at http://benasque.org/2020relativity/. Limited travel funds are available, with priority given to PhD students. We would appreciate it if you could forward to interested researchers in our field. Best, The organizers (D. Blas, P. Figueras, E. Lim, L. Stein, H. Witek, S. Nissanke) New frontiers in strong gravity The highly nonlinear, strong-field regime of gravity holds the key to address long-standing puzzles in modern physics. These range from deeply theoretical questions concerning a consistent theory of quantum gravity and resulting modifications to general relativity, over the stability properties of black holes in traditional general relativity, to new insight into nuclear matter under extreme conditions in the context of neutron star and multimessenger astronomy. In this two-week workshop (Jul 05-18, 2020) we will bring together leading experts as well as junior scientists and PhD students in these diverse research areas, to encourage communication and training across the fields and foster new research collaborations. Invited speakers include: - Samaya Nissanke - Tessa Baker - Roberto Emparan - Katy Clough - Enrico Barausse - Deirdre Shoemaker - Will East - Aaron Zimmerman - Thomas Sotiriou - Mihalis Dafermos - Maria Okounkova - David Mateos - Anne Davis - Rachel Rosen - Niels Warburton - Laura Bernard - Harald Pfeiffer The number of participants is limited. We ask students to upload a short CV (maximal 2 pages). Limited travel support will be available, with priority given to students. To apply for travel support please include some text justifying your request for support on the registration page. Registration will close on May 25. Registration and more information is at the workshop's web page, http://benasque.org/2020relativity/. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.7. Cosmography via Gravitational Waves and Other Observables, Stavanger, Norway --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=17047 Starting: 2020-04-20 to 2020-04-23 Location: Stavanger, Norway Additional Information: https://indico.uis.no/e/cosmography Contact: germano.nardini[AT]uis.no The University of Stavanger (Norway), with the support of the COST Action GWverse, is organizing the workshop "Cosmography via Gravitational Waves and Other Observables" in the period April 20th -- 23th, 2020. The workshop aims at: - Reviewing the theoretical and experimental aspects behind the current tension in cosmography; - Forecasting the potential impact of the forthcoming measurements; - Discussing the most appealing solutions to the puzzle. Three lectures will introduce the main themes of the workshop: "Early-universe measurements", "Late-universe measurements", and "Standard and dark sirens in GR and modified GR". Technical talks will follow broadly along these categories. The afternoons are planned with an informal schedule to allow participants to freely interact and start new collaborations. We invite everybody to participate and contribute. The deadline for abstract submission is April 4th but earlier submissions are appreciated. Participants asking for childcare should register as soon as possible and not later than March 4th. For more information please visit https://indico.uis.no/e/cosmography. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.8. Gravitex 2020: International Conference on Gravitation- Theory and Experiment, Durban, South Africa --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/27/gravitex-2020-international-c... Starting: 2020-08-03 to 2020-02-08 Location: Durban, South Africa Additional Information: https://acru.ukzn.ac.za/~gravitex2020/ Contact: hansrajs[AT]ukzn.ac.za Gravitex 2020: International Conference on Gravitation - Theory and Experiment will be hosted by the Astrophysics Research Centre of the University of KwaZulu Natal from 3 to 8 August 2020. The conference will explore the interface between the theoretical foundations of gravity, including modifications of the standard theory, recent observational highlights, and their interconnection. The venue for the conference sessions from 5 to 8 August 2020 is the Protea Hotel The Edward by Marriot, Durban, South Africa and is ideally situated on the Durban beachfront with its impressive 6 km promenade. On 3 and 4 August 2020, the conference will be preceded by a 2 day School programme directed at students and early career researchers. South African students will be funded from a grant from the Centre of Excellence in South Africa while candidates from the rest of Africa may avail themselves of some funding offered through a donation. Details are available on our website https://acru.ukzn.ac.za/~gravitex2020/. The Conference registration and cocktail function takes place at the Protea Hotel on Tuesday 4 August 2020. Thereafter the format of the conference will involve some eleven plenary talks by leading researchers in gravitation. Contributed talks and posters will also be welcomed. Important dates regarding abstract submission, early-bird discounted registration fees and information on what is covered by the registration fees is found on the website which goes live from 1 March 2020. Confirmed plenary speakers include: :Latham Boyle (Perimeter Institute, Canada), Martin Bucher (University of Paris/CNRS, France), Rong Gen Cai (Academy of Sciences, China), Naresh Dadhich (IUCAA, India) , George Ellis (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Nick Kaiser (ENS, France), Roy Maartens (University of the Western Cape, South Africa), Bishop Mongwane (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Samaya Nissanke (Grappa, Netherlands), Andrew Tolley (Imperial College London, UK), Amanda Weltman (University of Cape Town, South Africa). Delegates are requested to complete the Registration formalities on our website. Provisional registrations will become confirmed on payment of the registration fees of USD 250 (students)/ USD 300 (faculty) for the early-bird option. These fees include all meals in the official conference period. Accommodation, Tours, transport may also be booked online through our conference agent or delegates are free to make their own arrangements. Conference website: https://acru.ukzn.ac.za/~gravitex2020/ goes live on 1 March 2020. We look forward to welcoming you in Durban in August. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.9. 10th Int. Conf. DICE 2020: Spacetime - Matter - Quantum Mechanics, Castiglioncello, Italy --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=17065 Starting: 2020-09-14 to 2020-09-18 Location: Castiglioncello (Tuscany), Italy Additional Information: http://osiris.df.unipi.it/~elze/DICE2020.html Contact: elze@df.unipi.it This year's conference will be the tenth "anniversary" edition in this series of biannual meetings. Its main objective is to discuss important, if not fundamental issues in physics that keep (re)appearing in various subfields, but are usually presented in specialized conferences - such as concerning decoherence, information (loss), complexity, entropy, measurement problem, quantum/gravity interface, vacuum structure, cosmological constant problems, to indicate a few. This has turned out to be highly successful and stimulated fruitful exchanges with an illuminating list of speakers over the years; among them: J Hartle, R Penrose, G Veneziano*, S Adler*, G 't Hooft*, L Montagnier, S Haroche, C Wetterich*, A Connes, N Gisin, A Albrecht*, L S Schulman, I Walmsley, S Carlip, J Barbour*, T Padmanabhan*, N Mavromatos*, T W Kibble, Y Aharonov, H Kleinert*, G Casati*, C Brukner, H J Briegel, A Kempf*, V Nesvizhevsky, X-G Wen, D Bouwmeester, R Sorkin*, M Schlosshauer, C Rovelli, G Volovik, M Arndt, M Aspelmeyer, M Rasetti, GC Ghirardi*, L Vaidman, B-L Hu*, W Unruh, N Chomsky, GFR Ellis [*: participated several times]. Topics of this year's meeting are defined but not limited by overlapping interests in - Emergent spacetime, matter, and symmetries - Quantum foundations - Quantum computing / AI for physics - QM interfacing with gravity / new experiments - Quantum gravity / cosmology and high-energy physics The Organizing Committee consists of M Blasone (Salerno); L Diosi (Budapest); H-T Elze (Pisa, chair); L Fratino (Paris); J Halliwell (London); C Kiefer (Cologne); E Prati (Milano); G Vitiello (Salerno). All interested are warmly welcome. However, please, note that participation is always limited; therefore, early registration is recommended. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.10. Fourth Argentine-Brazilian Meeting on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology, Buenos Aires, Argentina --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=17067 Starting: 2020-04-22 to 2020-04-24 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Additional Information: http://www.iafe.uba.ar/graco4 Contact: graco4[AT]iafe.uba.ar IV Reunion Argentino-Brasilena de Gravitacion, Astrofisica y Cosmologia IV Reuniao Argentino-Brasileira de Gravitacao, Astrofisica e Cosmologia The first meeting was held in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, in October 2011; the second meeting was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in April 2014; the third meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in April 2016. The fourth edition of the Argentine-Brazilian Meeting on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology (GrACo IV), will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 22 - 24 (2020) at the Auditorium of CAECE, Avenida de Mayo 866, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires. The meeting will include invited talks by well-known specialists on topics of particular relevance (see the website) and contributed talks and posters. It would be enough free time to encourage interaction and discussion between the participants which are very welcome to present their current researchs. - Registration closure: March 9th, 2020 - Abstract submission & Registration Fee Payment (*): March 15th, 2020 (*) Please see the website for instructions. A limited amount of funding will be available for supporting the participation of master and doctoral fellows. To apply for these funds, please send an e-mail to graco4[AT]iafe.uba.ar, before Registration closure, briefly explaining (up to 200 words) your interest on the meeting and the reasons for your request, please also attach your CV. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.11. 19th Conference on Recent Developments in Gravity, Athens, Greece (final announcement) --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/03/01/19th-conference-on-recent-dev... Starting: 2020-07-01 to 2020-07-04 Location: Athens, Greece Additional Information: https://indico.physics.auth.gr/e/NEB19 Contact: neb19conference[AT]gmail.com The 19th NEB conference on "Recent Developments in Gravity" will be held in Athens, Greece, from the 1st to the 4th of July 2020. NEB19 is an international conference devoted to all aspects of Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology, which is organized every two years by the Hellenic Society for Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology. A list of previous conferences in the NEB series can be found at http://www.hsrgc.gr/activities.html. The website of the conference is https://indico.physics.auth.gr/e/NEB19 and the final registration deadline is March 31st, 2020. NEB19 will focus on recent developments in several areas: gravitational waves, relativistic astrophysics, alternative theories of gravity, mathematical relativity, relativistic cosmology and quantum gravity. The venue of the conference is the conference center of the Eugenides Foundation, near the coastal line of Faliro (located a few km south of the center of Athens). The list of invited plenary speakers includes: E. Berti (Johns Hopkins) E. Gourgoulhon (Meudon) R. Gregory (Durham) M. Dafermos (Cambridge/Princeton) S. Katsanevas (EGO-VIRGO) K. Kokkotas (Tuebingen) E. Plionis (NOA, Athens) D. Psaltis (Arizona) Th. Sotiriou (Nottingham) M. Sakellariadou (King's College) S. Weinfurtner (Nottingham) The invited plenary session speakers include: A. Gravitational Waves and Relativistic Astrophysics: M. Agathos (Cambridge), Th. Apostolatos (Athens), E. Barausse (SISSA), D. Doneva (Tuebingen), N. Karnesis (Paris), Ch. Markakis (Queen Mary) B. Alternative Theories of Gravity and Cosmology: E. Babichev (Paris), S. Basilakos (Athens), G. Kofinas (Athens), L. Papantonopoulos (Athens), K. Skordis (Prague), Ch. Tsagas (Thessaloniki), S. Yazadjiev (Sofia), C. Mathematical Relativity and Quantum Gravity: Th. Christodoulakis (Athens), L. Glaser (Vienna, TBC), (additional speakers TBA) We welcome the submission of abstracts for talks in the parallel sessions and for the poster session. We are looking forward to meeting all interested participants in Athens in July! With our best regards, The Organizing Committee Ch. Charmousis (CNRS - University Paris-Saclay) G. Pappas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) E. Saridakis (NTUA, Athens) N. Stergioulas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) A. Zoupas (University of Thessaly) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 2. Jobs ============================================== 2.1. Postdoctoral Fellowship on Gravitational Waves and Strong Gravity beyond GR, Cape Town, South Africa ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=16979 Deadline: 2020-02-29 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Additional Information: https://labs.inspirehep.net/jobs/1777243 Contact: alvaro.delacruzdombriz[AT]uct.ac.za The Cosmology and Gravity Group in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town, welcomes applications for postdoctoral fellows starting in early 2020 to work on Gravitational Waves (theory and experiments) and Strong-gravity objects beyond General Relativity and related topics. The postdoctoral fellow will mainly work with Alvaro de la Cruz Dombriz (UCT Cosmo), Raul Carballo (SISSA, Trieste IT), Anupam Mazumdar (Groningen U., NL) and Bishop Mongwane (UCT Cosmo). Collaborations are open with all the other members of the Group as well. Also the successful candidate is both welcome and encouraged to interact with the UCT Astronomy Department. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact directly PIs for the relevant project areas by 29 February 2020, in order to discuss project details and funding opportunities. The UCT Cosmology and Gravity Group is made of several Faculty members, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Cape Town hosts a large number of other research institutions in the field, such as, for example, the Department of Astronomy at UCT, the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and the Radio-Cosmology group of the University of Western Cape (UWC). Therefore, the local scientific life is very vibrant. In addition our academics have extensive international collaborations, and we are part of several bilateral agreements signed with other countries. For instance the group is member of two EU COST actions, participates in the SKA Working Groups (Cosmology and Gravitational Waves) and benefits from Erasmus+ mobilities for staff and postgraduate students. Cape Town is a spectacular relaxed place to live, with a range of indoor and outdoor activities, though the outdoors truly shines. The city is quite cosmopolitan with plenty of foreigners settling here and the famous wine region around. The nature, with two oceans coming together and Table Mountain, is also outstanding. Access to culture (theatre, exhibitions, live music, festivals and opera) and high-quality gastronomy are easy and affordable. Further information at: http://www.capetown.travel/ CONDITIONS OF AWARD: Applicants should please send ONE pdf file including your CV, publications if any and a brief statement of your research interests, and arrange to have ONE letter of reference e-mailed to Dr Alvaro de la Cruz-Dombriz for full consideration. Applicants must have obtained a doctoral degree in the relevant areas of mathematics, physics or astronomy within the past 5 years, and may not have held any prior permanent academic or professional posts. The successful incumbent may, as part of his/her professional development, be required to participate in departmental activities, such as limited teaching and supervision. The successful incumbent will be required to comply with the university's approved policies, procedures and practices for the postdoctoral sector. TENURE: The tenure of the fellowship is TWO full years at the outset, with the possibility of extension subject to progress and the availability of funding. SALARY: Salary will be R 280,000.00 per year (TAX free) plus travel allowance (two return international flight per year) and other top-ups. Such an stipend enables a high standard of life in Cape Town and facilitate attendance to international conferences and collaborations overseas. The University of Cape Town: - reserves the right to disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or inappropriate applications, and - reserves the right to change the conditions of award, and/or to make no awards at all. UCT is committed to the pursuit of excellence, diversity and redress. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.2. Gravitational Waves Postdoc position at IGFAE, Santiago de Compostela, Spain ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/14/gravitational-waves-postdoc-p... Deadline: 2020-02-26 Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain Additional Information: https://igfae.usc.es/igfae/job-offer/postdoctoral-research-associate-in-the-... Contact: thomas.dent@usc.es IGFAE (Galician Institute of High Energy Physics) at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) invites applications for a postdoctoral research associate in the Gravitational Wave Research Programme. This Research Programme has interests in gravitational-wave astrophysics, cosmology, data analysis and related fields; USC is a member group of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and is also involved in multi-messenger followup of gravitational-wave candidate events with the Pierre Auger Observatory. The GW research programme recently acquired hardware for a dedicated high-throughput computing cluster, which will be made available for LIGO-Virgo data analysis and related work. The research associate will be expected to support the LIGO group membership at a minimum 20% level by contributing to collaboration data analysis or technical review. The position is for 2 years with the earliest starting date in September 2020. Interested candidates should submit via email to jobs@igfae.usc.es, with the following attached in pdf format: * A recent CV, including list of publications. * Statement of Research Interests (max 3 pages). In addition, candidates should be prepared to arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to the same address if requested. The position will remain open until filled, however to ensure full consideration applications should be received by February 26, 2020. IGFAE is a member of SOMMa Excellence Alliance, the network of Severo Ochoa Centres and Maria de Maeztu Units to promote Spanish Excellence in research and to enhance its social impact at national and international levels. IGFAE is an equal opportunity employer. IGFAE is committed to increasing the diversity of its personnel and particularly welcomes applications from women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Informal enquiries should be sent to thomas.dent@usc.es, jaime.alvarez@usc.es or jobs@igfae.usc.es. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.3. Postodoc position in discretized models of quantum gravity, Krakow, Poland ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=17025 Deadline: 2020-04-30 Location: Krakow, Poland Additional Information: http://cs.if.uj.edu.pl/cs/index.html Contact: jerzy.jurkiewicz[AT]uj.edu.pl The 2-year post-doc position in the National Science Centre grant OPUS-17-ST2. The candidates are expected to have some basic experience in discretized models of quantum gravity and the ability to create the necessary computer codes and to perform massive numerical simulations. The position is in the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. The Institute hosts a big scientific group working on models of quantum gravity and quantum cosmology. The Institute has a large computer facility, other facilities in Poland can also be used. The studied model is the model of Causal Dynamical Triangulations, where the principal investigator (prof. Jerzy Jurkiewicz) is one of the creators of the model. The candidate will be expected to get involved in a collaboration with a large scientific group both in the Institute and abroad (Denmark, the Netherlands). CV and a motivation letter + 2 recommendation letters. The candidates will be evaluated by a commission. The commission may invite potential candidates for an interview. The results will be announced on 2020-15-05. The expected starting date: September 1st 2020. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.4. Two PhD positions in neutron star physics at Coimbra and Lisbon, Portugal ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/24/2-phd-positions-in-neutron-st... Deadline: 2020-04-30 Location: Coimbra/Lisbon, Portugal Additional Information: https://idpasc.lip.pt/pt_cern_grants/phd_programme/call/13 Contact: violetta.sagun[AT]uc.pt We are seeking for outstanding, highly motivated candidates for the following positions: 1. PhD position on thermal evolution of hybrid stars at the University of Coimbra supervised by Prof. Constanca Providencia and Dr. Violetta Sagun. 2. PhD position is devoted to the study of the effect of dark matter on the properties of compact stars. Its a joint scholarship between the University of Coimbra and the University of Lisbon supervised by Prof. Constanca Providencia, Dr. Violetta Sagun (Coimbra) and Prof. Ilidio Lopes (Lisbon). An application should include a curriculum vitae, a motivation letter, certificates of all the obtained academic degrees, other documents that the candidate may consider relevant (diplomas, certificates etc..) and up to three contacts for reference letters. Candidates should hold either a pre-Bologna degree, or a pre-/post-Bologna Master's degree at the time of application. Foreign degrees/diplomas are required to be recognized by the General Directorate of Higher Education or by a Portuguese higher education institution: https://www.dges.gov.pt/en/pagina/degree-and-diploma-recognition?plid=1536 Deadline for the application: 30th of April 2020, 17:00 (Lisbon time). Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Violetta Sagun (violetta.sagun[AT]uc.pt) well in advance, to discuss potential projects and application procedure. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.5. Expression of Interest, Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics, Canberra, Australia ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/28/expression-of-interest-anu-ce... Deadline: 2020-03-31 Location: Canberra, Australia Additional Information: https://www.ozgrav.org/anu-professor.html Contact: sareh.rajabi[AT]anu.edu.au As previously advertised, the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, has recently established a new Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA), jointly supported by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Physics. The Centre encompasses all aspects of gravitational wave physics and astrophysics, including instrumentation, theory and data analysis, source follow-up and multi-messenger astronomy. It will bring together existing ANU researchers in these areas under one umbrella and expand the capability by making up to seven new tenure or tenure-track academic appointments ranging from full Professor to Assistant Professor across these research programs over the next year. This presents a great opportunity for people facing the "two-body" problem! Even if your partner is not involved in GW research, we still may be able to accommodate very capable people. We are currently actively seeking Expressions of Interest for the key appointment of a Full Professor (Level E) and for an early to mid-career GW astrophysicist. At least one of these positions will be offered to a female-identifying candidate. The Full Professor will initially take on the role of Deputy Director, in the anticipation that they will take over as Director within the next five years. We are seeking inspirational scientists with an equity agenda from any area of research covered by the Centre, who can grow ANU's leadership across all areas of gravitational wave astronomy. If you think you have the skills, vision and drive required to fill this role, please consider applying, regardless of your current level of appointment. These two appointments come with attractive start-up packages and the ability to help shape the future of the CGA through subsequent faculty hires. Please submit a 2-page Expression of Interest (EoI), along with a complete CV. EoIs will be accepted any time until March 31st. We anticipate officially advertising the position in April. You are encouraged to contact Professor David McClelland (david.mcclelland[AT]anu.edu.au) for further information. Please email your expression of interest and CV to the CGA Administrator, Dr Sareh Rajabi (sareh.rajabi[AT]anu.edu.au), before the closing date. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.6. Tenure-Track Position in Gravitational Astrophysics, Canberra, Australia ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/28/tenure-track-position-in-grav... Deadline: 2020-03-31 Location: Canberra, Australia Additional Information: http://cga.anu.edu.au/ Contact: sareh.rajabi[AT]anu.edu.au Tenure-Track Position in Gravitational Astrophysics, Canberra, Australia (open to female identifying candidates only) The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, has recently established a new Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA), jointly supported by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Physics. The Centre encompasses all aspects of gravitational wave physics and astrophysics, including instrumentation, theory and data analysis, source follow-up and multi-messenger astronomy. It will bring together existing ANU researchers in these areas under one umbrella and expand the capability by making up to seven new tenure-track academic appointments across these research programs over the next year. The inaugural CGA Director is Professor David McClelland. We are seeking to appoint an outstanding early or mid-career academic with a strong research record in gravitational wave astrophysics (theory and data analysis, source follow-up, multi-messenger astronomy). This will be a tenure-track position attracting a significant start-up package. It will be a key foundation position in the CGA. The appointee will assist with recruiting additional appointments into the CGA, helping to shape its future. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) in this position. An EoI will comprise a 1-page statement of achievement and proposed program of research at ANU, along with a 2-page CV. EoIs will be accepted any time up until March 31st, 2020. Please email your EOI to the CGA administrator, Dr Sareh Rajabi, sareh.rajabi[AT]anu.edu.au, and expect confirmation of receipt. For further information, please contact Professor Susan Scott (susan.scott[AT]anu.edu.au) or Professor David McClelland (david.mcclelland[AT]anu.edu.au) at RSPhys and/or Associate Professor Christian Wolf (christian.wolf[AT]anu.edu.au) at RSAA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 3. News ============================================== 3.1. THE CHALONGE DE VEGA PROGRAMME 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/11/the-chalonge-de-vega-programm... Additional Information: https://chalonge-devega.fr PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR 2020 OF THE CHALONGE - DE VEGA SCHOOL THE NEW UNIVERSE and the NEW BLACK HOLES. QUANTUM PHYSICS and DARK ENERGY. A Laboratory of Ideas. Research, Training and Scientific Culture. 30 Years of Pioneering Activity. Calling for Understanding. Tribute to Hector de Vega. The Scientist and the Human Person. Science with great intellectual endeavor and a human face. A great scientific and human adventure. A beacon at the forefront of physical cosmology and astrofundamental physics with novel scientific research, projects and ideas, careful interdisciplinarity, with both Theory and Observations Open Science-Open and Free Access.Topics 2020: The quantum transplanckian phase of the Universe, Pre-Inflation, Inflation and Grand Unification Physics for and from the CMB Observations, Primordial Gravitons. Quantum Astrophysics, Warm Dark Matter Galaxies and their Structures, New Black Holes. Vacuum Energy, Lambda, H_0 and Dark Energy. The Classical-Quantum Gravity Duality. New Quantum structure of the Space-Time ....Precision Language for Precision Cosmology. Universality in the Universe.... The Present Transformations of Science: Quo Vadis Science (view from its own interior) ? Ubi es Science ? Sessions of the Year 2020, dates and their Topics are available here: https://chalonge-devega.fr/Programme2020.html Information is being completed along the whole year: research news, conferences, online lectures, videos Hector J. de Vega page: https://chalonge-devega.fr/HdeV.html School page: https://chalonge-devega.fr/ Norma G. Sanchez page: https://chalonge-devega.fr/sanchez/ With compliments and kind regards, The Chalonge - de Vega School https://chalonge-devega.fr ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.2. Special Issue of Symmetry on "Numerical Relativity and Gravitational Wave" ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/16/special-issue-of-symmetry-on-... Additional Information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/symmetry/special_issues/Numerical_Relativity_Gr... Dear Colleagues, The journal Symmetry has a special issue on "Numerical Relativity and Gravitational Wave" and is now open for submission. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2020. Numerical relativity (NR) is currently a major topic connecting general relativity to computational astrophysics and simulation science. After the 2006 breakthroughs in the simulation of black hole collisions, the field developed in several directions. Current applications range from multimessenger astrophysics modeling to cosmology, with new formal and numerical aspects under development. Key astrophysical NR applications involve the simulations of mergers of neutron stars and black holes and of core collapse supernovae. Binary black hole simulations crucially helped the characterization of the first gravitational signals detected by the LIGO-Virgo experiments. Their increasing accuracy and completeness is driving waveform modeling for gravitationalwave astronomy. General relativistic fluidynamics simulations of compact binary mergers are essential to study the engines that power electromagnetic observables. Strong gravity is also a primary component for quantitative simulations of stellar collapse and accretion onto compact objects. Fundamental applications of NR tools are the dynamical stability of compact objects, scenarios for black hole formation, and investigations of the cosmic censorship conjecture. Critical phenomena in gravitational collapse were a genuine numerical discovery and are currently being extended to nonspherical symmetries and multidimensions. High-energy black-hole collisions can be used to probe black-hole formation in proton-proton collisions at particle colliders or in cosmic-ray showers hitting the Earth's atmosphere. The field is evolving also towards the exploration of alternative theories of gravity, black-hole studies in the context of the gauge-gravity duality, and the first cosmological applications. The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect new original contributions in the broad field of numerical relativity. We welcome contributions exploring new formalisms and new numerical methods for Einstein equations, as well as new applications of NR methods in all areas. Prof. Dr. Sebastiano Bernuzzi (Guest Editor) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.3. Call for papers: "Binary Neutron Star mergers" ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: https://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2020/02/18/call-for-papers-binary-neutro... Additional Information: https://www.springer.com/journal/10714/updates/17696034 We solicit submissions for a Topical Collection of the journal General Relativity and Gravitation on "Binary Neutron Star mergers". With two announced detections and several more candidate events, binary neutron star mergers are at the center stage of gravitational-wave astronomy. There are many open challenges in the simulation of such sources, in the data analysis and in their interpretation. As the number of detections will increase over the next years and as upgraded and new detectors will become operational, we may anticipate significant discoveries and breakthroughs in our understanding of the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars. The interplay with other channels of information also promises big scientific rewards regarding the aftermath of such mergers. This topical collection will include invited reviews and reports on various aspects of binary neutron star mergers. Representative topics are: - Binary Neutron Star Merger Remnants - Matter Imprints in Waveform Models for Neutron Star Binaries - Post-merger EOS Constraints in BNS mergers - MHD Simulations of Binary Neutron Star Mergers - Neutron Star Tidal Deformability and EOS Constraints - Binary Neutron Star Initial Data GRG also welcomes contributed submissions to be included as original research articles in this topical collection, which will remain open until November 2020. Authors are invited to submit through the website https://www.editorialmanager.com/gerg/. Please indicate that your manuscript is intended for inclusion in the special issue "T.C. : BNS mergers". For preparation, please follow the instructions for authors available under "Submission guidelines". We look forward to receiving your submission! Nikolaos Stergioulas and Pablo Laguna (Topical Collection Editors). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++