Strong Gravity

Strong Gravity research at Perimeter Institute is devoted to understanding both the theoretical and observational aspects of systems in which gravity is very strong (i.e., spacetime is highly curved or dynamical). On one hand, this means studying extreme astrophysical systems, like black holes and neutron stars, as well as making and testing predictions for existing and forthcoming gravitational wave detectors, electromagnetic telescopes, and particle astrophysics experiments. On the other hand, it also includes a range of non-astrophysical topics, such as the instabilities of higher-dimensional black holes or the dynamics of strongly-coupled quantum field theories (via holography).

The goal of strong gravity researcher is to test the validity of Einstein's theory of gravity, constrain proposed alternatives, understand the most extreme astrophysical systems, and investigate the ways in which highly curved or dynamical spacetimes are linked with a range of other problems in fundamental physics.