Saul A. Teukolsky
Cornell University
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Primary Section: 13, Physics Secondary Section: 12, Astronomy Membership Type:
Member
(elected 2003)
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Research Interests
My research interests include general relativity, theoretical astrophysics, and computational physics. My earliest work led to the development of an equation that describes how a black hole interacts with surrounding objects (the so-called "Teukolsky equation"). My subsequent research has included the physics of pulsars and supernova explosions, properties of rapidly rotating neutron stars, stellar dynamics, and planets around pulsars. My most current project uses supercomputers to study colliding black holes. I am part of a world-wide effort trying to solve Einstein's equations of general relativity with computers. The goal of this effort is to predict the gravitational waves emitted by two orbiting black holes that spiral together and coalesce. Such a wave will likely be among the first signals detectable by the new gravitational wave detectors like LIGO that are becoming operational. For the first time theory and observation will confront each other in the limit of ultrastrong gravity and highly warped spacetime.
