Dr. Chris Kavanagh
Junior Scientist/PostdocLocation Potsdam
Main Focus
My research mostly centres around modelling extreme mass-ratio
inspirals (emri's): systems of two compact astrophysical bodies orbiting
each other emitting gravitational radiation in which one body is
significantly larger in mass than the other. Such systems with a ~10
solar mass black hole orbiting a ~106 solar mass black hole are
expected to be rich sources for the space based gravitational wave
observatory LISA.
Modelling emri's is most effectively done
using the gravitational self-force approach. Here, one employs black
hole perturbation theory and methods of dynamical systems to describe
the evolving trajectory of the small body and the gravitational waves
emitted. A large portion of my research has involved using asymptotic
methods to calculate physical effects of the gravitational self force.
Most recently I have been interested in how spin of the small body is
included in the the self-force framework.
I am also interested
in the overlap between emri modelling and the effective-one-body model
(EOB). EOB is an analytic repackaging of the two body problem in general
relativity primarily used for LIGO type systems where the the masses of
the two bodies is roughly equivalent.
Publications
Here are links to my publications: from Spires, and from the ADS database.
Curriculum Vitae
I studied Mathematical Physics in University College Dublin from 2006-2010. After that I completed a Masters in Advanced Study in Applied mathematics (previously referred to as Part 3) at the University of Cambridge from 2010-2011. Under the supervision of Prof Adrian Ottewill back in University College Dublin, I completed a PhD thesis titled 'High Order Asymptotic Expansions for Extreme Mass-Ratio Binaries', graduating in 2016. Following this I was a post-doc at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques under Prof Thibault Damour from 2016-2018. In December 2018 I joined the AEI.