QMUL Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation News

Queen Mary theoretical physicists awarded £1. ...

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

Researchers in the Centre for Theoretical Physics and Astronomy in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences and the Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary have been awarded £1.4 million from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to fund the four-year research programme titled "Amplitudes, Strings and Duality". The panel noted that "The QMUL group has been a powerhouse of research in theoretical particle physics". This award reflects QMUL's position as one of the largest and most active theoretical physics groups in the UK, building on an exceptional research record spanning string theory, scattering amplitudes, and dualities. This major award will support a broad and ambitious programme of research at the interface of theoretical physics, mathematics, and emerging computational methods involving 16 academics and three postdoctoral researchers and is focused on two interconnected themes: Amplitudes and Quantum Fields: QMUL has been at the forefront of modern amplitudes research, uncovering deep mathematical structures in quantum field theory, gravity, and string theory. The team has developed powerful methods to compute classical observables in general relativity relevant to gravitational waves, including landmark results using heavy-mass effective field theory and worldline approaches. Breakthroughs include the computation of gravitational waveforms and high-order scattering observables, as well as major advances in the double copy, amplituhedron, and string amplitudes. The new programme will push the precision frontier in gravitational physics, deepen connections between complementary computational methods, and extend the reach of the double copy to new physical settings including cosmology and condensed matter. It will also explore links between quantum information theory and collider physics. Symmetries and Quantum Fields: Dualities, Algebras and Learning: The team has led advances across holography, quantum field theory, and mathematical physics, uncovering new structures in black hole physics, conformal field theories, and topological field theories. Their work spans topics such as quantum anomalies, non-perturbative dynamics, and emergent geometry, alongside innovative applications of machine learning to quantum field theory and the bootstrap programme. Future work will investigate the interplay between holography and quantum complexity, develop new algebraic and computational frameworks for understanding quantum field theories, and explore the role of artificial intelligence both as a tool for discovery in physics and as a subject informed by physical principles. This grant will strengthen collaboration across SPCS and SMS at QMUL, support early-career researchers and students, and enable continued leadership in fundamental theoretical research.

QMUL joins the Einstein Telescope collaboration

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

QMUL has joined the Einstein Telescope (ET) collaboration with a new ET Research Unit supported by School of Mathematical Sciences and the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. ET is a European project, driven by an international collaboration, for an innovative gravitational-wave observatory. It will be part of a third-generation of gravitational-wave detectors which is poised to revolutionise our comprehension of the Universe and the fundamentals of gravity, while pushing the boundaries of technology.

Queen Mary to host Amplitudes 2026

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

The Centre for Theoretical Physics and Astronomy at the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences is delighted to announce that Queen Mary University of London will host Amplitudes 2026, the international conference on scattering amplitudes, from 29 June to 3 July 2026. Amplitudes is an annual international conference series focused on scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory, string theory, and related areas of high-energy theoretical physics. The series has become since its inception in 2009 a central meeting point for researchers developing modern analytic and geometric methods for computing amplitudes, including unitarity techniques, bootstrap approaches, on-shell methods, twistor and geometric formulations, and connections to gravity and cosmology. The conference brings together leading experts, early-career researchers, and students to share recent advances, foster collaboration, and chart new directions in the study of fundamental interactions. Queen Mary will be the first institution to host Amplitudes twice, having previously held the conference in 2010. An Amplitudes 2026 Summer School will take place the week after the conference, from 6 to 10 July 2026, at the University of Southampton. Both events are funded by SAGEX, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network funded by the European Commission. For more information, visit the conference website here.

Claudia Garetto receives Suffrage Science Award for Maths and Computing

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Many congratultons to Claudia Garetto who has been awarded the 2026 Suffrage Science Award for Maths and Computing, a prestigious peer-to-peer award recognising outstanding women in science for both research excellence and their commitment to inspiring others. The Suffrage Science Awards are unique in their format and ethos: each recipient nominates another woman to receive an heirloom award, creating a growing network of inspiring and supportive women across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The nomination says "Professor Claudia Garetto is a leading scholar in Partial Differential Equations and Mathematical Analysis. Claudia has shaped the field with clarity, depth, and originality, inspiring colleagues and students to think boldly and rigorously. [...] This award celebrates not only her scholarly achievements but her tireless efforts to make the mathematical sciences community more equitable, vibrant, and welcoming".

Masanori Hanada's work wins an Outstanding Paper Award of the Physical Society of Japan

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Congratulations to Masanori Hanada: his paper "Creating and probing the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model with ultracold gases: Towards experimental studies of quantum gravity", published in the Journal "Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics" won an Outstanding Paper Award of the Physical Society of Japan. Only five papers have been selected for the 31st edition of this prize. In his paper Masanori suggests that combining theoretical ideas, such as the holographic principle, with recent technological advances in atomic, molecular, and optical physics, can lead to experimental studies of quantum gravity.

Biagio Lucini gives the Higgs Compositeness update talk at Lattice 2025

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Many congratulations to Biagio Lucini, who has given the Higgs Compositeness update talk at Lattice 2025. The 42nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2025) is an annual conference that brings together scientists from around the world who specialise in the numerical evaluation of quantum field theories. This year it was held at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India, between November 2 and November 8. The conference primarily focuses on the latest theoretical and algorithm developments in Lattice Gauge Theory, particularly in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). It also encompasses areas such as machine architectures, AI/ML applications in physics, and algorithm development for quantum computing. At the opening of the conference a special mention has been made to the work of Masanori Hanada on the Bekenstein Black Hole Entropy in the equivalent matrix model system.

First Simons Collaboration event at QMUL on Initial Data issues in Numerical Relativity

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In November the workshop "Initial Data in NR" was held in School of Mathematical Sciences. This was the first event of the new Simon's Collaboration for Black Holes and Strong Gravity to be held at QMUL, kicking off our participation in this exciting new international network. Researchers from Nottingham, Cambridge, Princeton, AEI Potsdam, Leuven and others joined us for this 3 day event focussed on generating new collaborations and solving outstanding problems in the generation of suitable physical data for numerical relativity simulations of black holes in beyond GR theories. The event started with a bang as we watched the 5th November fireworks from the 5th floor common room, and overall was a great success!

Prestigious Simons Foundation grant awarded to Dr Katy Clough for black hole research

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Dr Katy Clough has been named Principal Investigator (PI) in the newly established $8-million Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity. This highly competitive grant will bring together 12 co-PIs from institutions worldwide, alongside a wider network of experts, to develop a robust theoretical framework for deciphering secrets encoded in gravitational wave (GW) data. Queen Mary Professor Pau Figueras and postdoctoral researcher Aron Kovacs will also act as associates in the grant's wider network of collaborators, underscoring the university's key role in cutting-edge gravitational research. Gravitational wave science offers an unparalleled opportunity to probe the physics of strong gravity – the extreme conditions found in the vicinity of black holes. With planned upgrades to the Advanced LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA gravitational wave detectors set to double their sensitivity in the coming years, the volume of the universe accessible through GW data will increase by a factor of eight. This advancement ushers in an era of precision gravitational wave physics, demanding a deeper understanding of non-linear gravity. "It's a great honour to be part of this international collaboration and to be recognised by the Simons Foundation," Dr Clough commented. "These grants are very competitive, and I'm proud that Queen Mary is playing a key role. This is an exciting moment in the study of non-linear strong gravity, and we are looking forward to contributing to the discoveries that await us." The collaboration's ambitious goals include developing the theoretical framework necessary to demystify persistent astrophysical puzzles and shedding new light on the fundamental nature of black holes. This work could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the universe's matter-antimatter asymmetry, the nature of dark matter, and physics that extends beyond Einstein's theory of general relativity. The research will involve analytical calculations, extensive computer simulations, and rigorous testing against observational data. The ultimate aim is to develop sophisticated models of "smoking-gun signals" that will enable scientists to decipher the profound secrets hidden within gravitational wave observations. Queen Mary will play a leading role in the numerical simulations of gravity that are required to build and test these models. Dr Clough, Professor Figueras and Dr Kovacs are members of the Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation in the School of Mathematical Sciences, and experts in the formulation of theories beyond Einstein gravity and their study using computer simulations – the field of numerical relativity. They have used some of the largest supercomputers in Europe to study extreme dynamical gravity as a way of shedding light on problems in fundamental physics and play a lead role in the UK-based GRTL Collaboration that develops software to test the limits of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The Simons Collaboration aims to bridge disciplines, drawing on expertise in theoretical physics, mathematics, numerical computation, AI-assisted data analysis, and gravitational wave observation. Professor Nicolás Yunes of Illinois Physics, who will serve as the collaboration's director, emphasised the timely nature of this multidisciplinary effort. "We're moving toward the era of precision gravitational wave physics," he notes. "This new era must be accompanied by a multidisciplinary effort to deepen our understanding of non-linear gravity. Otherwise, we will miss secrets encoded in the gravitational wave data, or worse, misinterpret our observations and be led in the wrong direction." The Simons Foundation grant will support postdoctoral and graduate-student positions, foster travel and collaboration between member institutions, and facilitate numerous meetings throughout the year. Queen Mary's involvement ensures its continued prominence in the global effort to understand the most extreme astrophysical environments in the universe, and the fundamental nature of strong gravity. The 12 co-PIs include Nicolás Yunes at Illinois, Emanuele Berti of Johns Hopkins University, Vitor Cardoso of the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark, Katy Clough of Queen Mary, University of London in the UK, Neil Cornish of Montana State University, Jonathan Gair of the Albert Einstein Institute (a Max Planck Institute), Daniel Holz of the University of Chicago, Gary Horowitz of the University of California Santa Barbara, Luis Lehner of the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Canada, Alex Lupsasca of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, Matias Zaldarriaga of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, NJ, and Mihalis Dafermos of Princeton University. These co-PIs are physicists and mathematicians, who specialise in strong gravity from theoretical, computational and observational perspectives.

24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24) and 16th Edoardo ...

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 23:00:00 +0100

This week several members of our Centre are taking part in the joint GR24 and Amaldi meeting in the Scottish Exihibition Centre in Glasgow. Congratulations to Pau Figueras for his pleanary talk on Numerical Relativity beyond General Relativity. In the pictures, past and present members of our Centre. More info here.