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Dept. of Physics University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee WI 53201 |
patrick at gravity.phys.uwm.edu Telephone: (414) 229-6508 Room: Physics 472 |
About me
I am a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. My research interests include the the dynamics of gravitational collapse, black holes, numerical relativity including simulation of binary coalescence, and the detection of gravitational waves using interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. In broad terms, I'm interested in theoretical and experimental aspects of gravitation. I am an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and a Cottrell Scholar.
When I had spare time, I used to try my hand at various adventure sports including caving, kayaking and scuba diving. The last big trip I managed was to Mexico Caving with Proyecto Espeleologica Purification in 1997. Someday I'll surprise the postdocs and students in the group by going on another expedition of this kind. In the meantime, past trips provide ample fodder for stories.
Research Interests
The construction of LIGO, a national facility for detecting gravitational waves, is complete. The analysis of LIGO data is being organized by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC). I am a member of the LSC and co-chair (with Gabriela Gonzalez, LSU) the inspiral analysis working group. This group is searching for gravitational-wave signals from compact binary systems as they spiral together by loss of energy as gravitational waves. LIGO is sensitive to the waves produced during the last few minutes of the inspiral just before the elements merge.
I also contribute to other working groups who look for unmodeled bursts and continuous signals like those that might be produced by rapidly rotating neutron stars. The prospects for interesting scientific investigations in this nascent field of gravitational wave astronomy are superb.
The natural progression from detection of gravitational waves to routine astronomical observations is the grail of gravitational-wave research. This involves a combination of theoretical and practical work in data analysis. The existence of black holes is among the most fascinating predictions of general relativity. Gravitational-wave astronomy promises to provide direct observation of strong gravitational fields around black holes while pairs of them are involved in violent relativistic interactions. Theoretical understanding of the late stages of inspiral and merger of black holes will be needed in order to extract physical information.
LISA, a proposed space-based gravitational-wave observatory, may fly toward the end of this decade. It will be sensitive to gravitational waves in frequency bands considerably lower than earth based interferometers. Space based interferometers will be sensitive to gravitational waves from neutron stars (or white dwarfs) spiraling into massive black holes. I am gearing up an effort to become more involved in this research direction.
I also remains interested in more abstract issues in gravitational theory. I study of singularities and their formation in gravitational collapse. Numerical methods provide one of the best methods to examine broad, physically interesting parameter spaces of solutions involving singularities.