Welcome to My Website

I am currently an Associate Professor of the Department of Physics, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science of Florida Atlantic University.

Strongly gravitating systems, such as neutron stars and black holes can only be modeled accurately by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Unfortunately, the equations that govern the dynamics of such systems are highly complex and, in most cases, impossible to solve without the aid of advanced computer clusters. One of the most active fields of current research focuses on the study of gravitational waves (i.e.; small ripples in the spacetime continuum that propagate at the speed of light). This studies are strongly driven by the coming on-line of a new generation of gravitational radiation observatories that carry the promise of revealing the universe under a completely new light.

Neutron stars and black boles are particularly difficult to study by means of conventional astronomy: they are mostly inert objects that are not particularly bright in any band of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are, however, specially strong gravitational wave emitters when found in groups of two (binaries). General Relativity predicts that two objects orbiting around each other in a binary will inevitably merge into a single body; either a new black hole or neutron star. The explosion caused by this merger is one of the most powerful events known to science.

My research work is focused on modeling numerically binary neutron stars and black holes and the theoretical prediction of their gravitational signature. Comparing the numerical models with astronomical data will permit testing for the first time the Theory of General Relativity in the strong field regime.