Alex Saffer

Astronomy | McLaughlin Group

Biography

Alex’s research interests are mostly concerned with probing fundamental physics through the use of compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars.  His work has focused on analytical methods to construct the rate at which energy leaves compact binary systems in the form of gravitational waves. In addition to his work in analytical tests, Alex is interested in studying gravity with pulsar timing array data.  Since pulsars can be treated as accurate clocks, the presence of gravitational waves can cause an offset in the expected time of arrival.  Studying these residuals allows for further probes of the effects of gravity.