Ringing black holes: the soundtrack of spacetime

• Romeo Felice Rosato

When two black holes collide, the system evolves through multiple phases. In the final phase, a new compact object forms and settles into equilibrium through the so-called ringdown, characterized by the emission of gravitational waves. The black hole’s response to a perturbation in this phase is described by exponentially damped sinusoids with discrete frequencies and damping times. These oscillations, known as quasinormal modes (QNMs), arise from black hole perturbation theory. Since the system is non-conservative, these frequencies are complex.

Dicussion

Mind the Bias: How Selection Effects Shape Our Understanding of the Universe

• Leonardo Iampieri

Selection biases are a fundamental challenge that can skew data and lead to misinterpretations across various disciplines. In this presentation, we explore the historical development of selection bias and examine illustrative examples from various fields, highlighting its pervasive impact. We then focus on the role of Bayesian inference in addressing and correcting for these biases

Discussion