Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: A roadmap

Askar, Abbas; Bertone, Gianfranco; Bon, Edi; Blas, Diego; Brito, Richard; Burrage, Clare; Bulik, Tomasz; Chernyakova, Masha; Caprini, Chiara; Gaggero, Daniele; Ferrari, Valeria; Colpi, Monica; Gair, Jonathan; Heisenberg, Lavinia; Hendry, Martin; Heng, Ik Siong; Herdeiro, Carlos; Mingarelli, Chiara; Nardini, Germano; Le Tiec, Alexandre; Hinderer, Tanja; Kocsis, Bence; Horesh, Assaf; Kramer, Michael; Sperhake, Ulrich; Sesana, Alberto; Schmidt, Patricia; Perego, Albino; Pani, Paolo; Palenzuela, Carlos; Nelemans, Gijs; Stamerra, Antonio; Annulli, Lorenzo; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Abdelsalhin, Tiziano; Yagi, Kent; Wex, Norbert; Wardell, Barry; Volonteri, Marta; Vincent, Frederic; Tamanini, Nicola; Bricman, Katja; Bosnjak, Zeljka; Bonetti, Matteo; Blanco-Pillado, Jose Juan; Bezares, Miguel; Berti, Emanuele; Bernuzzi, Sebastiano; Bernard, Laura; Benkel, Robert; Barakovic, Elvis; Barausse, Enrico; Bah, Ibrahima; Arca-Sedda, Manuel; Ferreira, Miguel; Erdem, Recai; Emparan, Roberto; Edholm, James; Eck...

Abstract

© 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics-dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem-all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'.

Citation

Askar, A., Bertone, G., Bon, E., Blas, D., Brito, R., Burrage, C., …Zilhão, M. (2019). Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: A roadmap. Classical and Quantum Gravity, 36(14), Article 143001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/ab0587

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 8, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 19, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 19, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 20, 2020
• Journal: Classical and Quantum Gravity
• Print ISSN: 0264-9381
• Electronic ISSN: 1361-6382
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 14
• Article Number: 143001
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/ab0587
• Keywords: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology; High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; High Energy Physics - Theory
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2215487
• Publisher URL: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ab0587
• Additional Information: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication/published in Classical and Quantum Gravity. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at 10.1088/1361-6382/ab0587.; ; Leor Barack et al 2019 Class. Quantum Grav. 36 143001.