Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture

A free public physics lecture at the University of Bath exploring the origins of binary compact object collisions using gravitational waves.

Violent Beginnings Have Violent Ends: Deciphering the Origins of Binary Compact Object Collisions with Gravitational Waves

When black holes and neutron stars collide, they mark the dramatic end of a long and sometimes violent history. Despite almost 400 such collisions being detected in gravitational waves since 2015, the formation scenarios of these systems remain mysterious.

The shapes of the binary orbits are a key clue: calm binary star evolution leads to circular orbits, while chaotic encounters in star clusters, galactic nuclei, and field triples can lead to dramatic deviations from circularity. The lecture explains how binaries with violent beginnings can be identified through signatures of orbital eccentricity in gravitational wave signals.

Speaker: Isobel Romero-Shaw

Date & time: Wednesday 11 November 2026, 7.00pm - 8.30pm

Location: University of Bath, room 10E 0.17, Claverton Down, BA2 7AY