Sean McWilliams
Associate Professor; Director, Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology
“I am a gravitational wave astronomer, numerical and analytical relativist, and data analyst. My research focuses mainly on understanding the dynamics of compact binaries, which are systems composed of any combination of black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs.”
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Research
In the broadest terms, I am a theoretical astrophysicist. More specifically, I am
a gravitational wave astronomer, numerical and analytical relativist, and data
analyst. My research focuses mainly on understanding the dynamics of compact binaries,
which are systems composed of any combination of black holes, neutron stars, and
white dwarfs. Through numerical simulations and/or analytical modeling, I estimate
the behavior of two of these highly dense, tightly orbiting bodies. Such systems
stretch Einstein’s theory of general relativity to its limit.
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