Title: Why are LIGO/Virgo black hole so massive?

Speaker: CHEN Xian

Institute: Department of Astronomy / KIAA, Peking University

Host: Mouyuan Sun

Time: 14:30-16:30, Thursday

Location: Physics Building 552

Abstract:

Measuring the mass and distance of a gravitational wave (GW) source is a fundamental problem in GW astronomy. It relies on accurate waveform templates. The current templates are developed assuming that the sources are residing in a vacuum, but astrophysical models predict that the sources could form in gaseous environments, move with relatively large velocity, or reside in the vicinity of supermassive black holes.  In this talk, I will demonstrate how the above environmental factors could distort the GW signal and lead to an incorrect estimation of the physical parameters. These effects, if not appropriately accounted for in the GW data analysis, may alter our understanding of the formation, evolution, and detection of compact objects and black holes.

Bio:

Dr. Xian Chen received his PhD from Peking University, and later moved on to the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Peking University, the Max-Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany, and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile for postdocs. In 2016 he came back to China and joined the Astronomy Department of Peking University as an assistant professor. Dr. Chen’s research mainly focuses on the relativistic dynamics and radiation processes close to black holes.

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