Past Events
March 2026 | |
| Tue 31 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 |  GAnG Seminar: Julien Barrat (DESY)Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Speaker: Julien Barrat Title: Bootstrapping thermal CFTs Abstract: Thermal conformal field theories (CFTs) describe quantum systems at finite temperature, with applications ranging from laboratory systems to the holographic description of black holes. Although the thermal background breaks global conformal symmetry, key local data of the zero-temperature theory—such as the spectrum and operator... |
| Tue 24 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Jingeon An (U. Basel) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Speaker: Jingeon An, University of Basel. Title: Minimal surfaces and Allen-Cahn equations. Abstract: Minimal surfaces and Allen–Cahn equations are central topics in geometric partial differential equations and geometric measure theory. We provide a brief overview of the research history, with particular focus on the interface regularity of Allen–Cahn equations. We then introduce a promising new... |
| Tue 17 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Javier Subils Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NB: Pre seminar for non experts starts at 2pm, main talk 2.30pm Title: Inhomogeneous static black branes as critical bubbles in phase transitions Abstract: First-order phase transitions in the early Universe or in neutron stars can leave observable gravitational wave imprints. But predicting these signals requires precise understanding of bubble dynamics and, in particular, the nucleation of critical bubbles of the stable phase within a metastable plasma. Using holography, I present a... |
| Thu 12 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Michal P. Heller (Ghent University / Jagiellonian University) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation Title: Quasinormal perspective on nonthermal fixed points Abstract: I will present nonthermal fixed points as paradigmatic far from equilibrium weak coupling phenomena characterised by a self-similar evolution in time. I will then discuss what strong coupling perspective based on the quasinormal modes insights into holographic thermalization and hydrodynamics can teach us about nonthermal fixed points. Based on 2307.07545, 2502.01622 and 2504.18754. |
| Tue 10 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Suvendu Giri (Uppsala) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: No pre talk this week, so seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: A "dictionary" to test GR with GW: from observations to theory Abstract: GR, while one of the most successful and well-tested theories to date, is expected to receive corrections at high energies—through higher-curvature terms, additional degrees of freedom, or both. Given the vast landscape of possible extensions, how can we test them in a systematic way? I will present a general framework for interpreting deviations... |
| Tue 3 Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Allen Fang Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Speaker: Allen Fang Title: On the uniqueness of Kerr-de Sitter Abstract: The uniqueness of the Kerr-de Sitter family of black hole spacetimes as stationary solutions to the Einstein vacuum equations is a crucial ingredient to understanding the final states of positive cosmological constant universes, such as our physical universe. In the asymptotically flat case, Kerr was shown to be the unique... |
February 2026 | |
| Tue 24 Feb 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Marcelo Malagutti (UCL) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: Scattering for the Steklov problem on an infinite wedge Abstract: The Steklov problem is the spectral problem for the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map (DtN) for the Laplacian–an operator which appears, for example, in the Calderon problem and the Sloshing problem. Motivated by the Steklov problem on higher dimensional, piecewise smooth Lipschitz domains, we consider the massive DtN map (i.e. the DtN map... |
| Tue 17 Feb 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Daniela Cors (Cambridge) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: tbc. |
| Tue 10 Feb 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Prachi Sahjwani (Cardiff) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: Stability of Quermassintegral and Minkowski-Type Inequalities in Curved Spaces Abstract: In this talk I will discuss stability results for geometric inequalities, with a focus on inequalities arising in curved spaces. After introducing the notion of stability through the classical isoperimetric inequality, I will present results from my PhD concerning the stability of quermassintegral... |
| Tue 3 Feb 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | POSTPONED - GAnG Seminar: Charlie Hoy (Portsmouth) Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation This event is postponed due to speaker illness, further details to follow. NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: Bridging Simulation and Inference: Numerical relativity informed Bayesian analyses Abstract: Inferring the properties of colliding black holes from gravitational-wave observations is subject to systematic errors arising from modelling uncertainties. Although the accuracy of each model can be calculated through... |
January 2026 | |
| Tue 27 Jan 2026 14:30 - 15:30 | GAnG Seminar: Peter Cameron from Imperial College - Spacetime extensions in low regularity Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation NOTE: Pre talk intro for non experts starts at 2pm, with seminar starting at 2.30pm Title: Spacetime extensions in low regularity Abstract: It has been shown that the interior of a dynamical black hole (of the sort believed to occur in nature) contains a Cauchy horizon to which the spacetime metric extends continuously. However, Penrose's strong cosmic censorship conjecture states that in any such extension, the Christoffel symbols should fail to be locally square integrable (and... |
| Wed 21 Jan 2026 13:30 - 15:00 |  Seminar: Testing the laws of gravity and dark matter properties with cosmological observations - Dr Camille BonvinCentre for Theoretical Physics and Astronomy In 1998, two groups of astrophysics discovered that the expansion of our Universe is accelerating, in direct contradiction with our expectations from General Relativity. This strange behaviour of our Universe could either be due to a new form of energy, called dark energy, or to a modification of the laws of gravity at large, cosmological scales. In this talk I will discuss how cosmological observations can be used to test the validity of General Relativity and the nature of dark matter. I will... |