§ 01Research · 03 / 06

Black holes & gravitational waves

Compact binary mergers seen in gravitational waves, neutron stars from pulsars to magnetars, strong lensing, accretion disks around supermassive black holes, and the runaway black hole RBH-1.

All research themes

§ 02People

Faculty

Each portrait links to a profile page.

Tejaswi VenumadhavAssociate ProfessorGravitational waves from compact binary mergers · Neutron stars and magnetarsBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn

Emeriti

Robert AntonucciProfessor EmeritusActive galactic nuclei · SpectropolarimetryBlack holes & GW
Omer BlaesProfessor EmeritusAccretion onto compact objects · Emission from active galactic nucleiBlack holes & GW
Carl GwinnProfessor EmeritusPulsars · Interstellar scattering and scintillationBlack holes & GW

§ 03On the sky

On the sky

Objects tied to this theme's research, placed on the sky over Broida Hall. Positions are computed in your browser.

Positions are computed in the browser and need JavaScript.

Zenith at the center, horizon at the rim, rings at 30° and 60° altitude. North up, east left, as seen looking up. Stars to magnitude 4.5.

Radio galaxy
Cygnus A
RA 19h 59.5m · Dec +40° 44′
261 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- The JWST View of Cygnus A: Jet-driven Coronal Outflow with a Twist2025
- Cygnus A obscuring torus: ionized, atomic, or molecular?2024
Robert Antonucci
BL Lac object
BL Lacertae
RA 22h 02.7m · Dec +42° 17′
304 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- X-Ray Polarization Observations of BL Lacertae2023
Max Millar-Blanchaer
Radio galaxy
Centaurus A
RA 13h 25.5m · Dec −43° 01′
3.66 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- Scattered synchrotron emission and a giant torus revealed in polarized light in the nearest radio galaxy Centaurus A2025
Robert Antonucci
Seyfert 2 galaxy
J1430+2303
RA 14h 30.3m · Dec +23° 04′
381 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- Polarimetry of the potential binary supermassive black hole system in J1430+23032023
Robert Antonucci
Active galaxy
M 87
RA 12h 30.8m · Dec +12° 23′
16.5 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- The Effects of Tilt on the Images of Black Hole Accretion Flows2020
Omer Blaes
Seyfert 2 galaxy
NGC 1068
RA 02h 42.7m · Dec −00° 01′
14 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
Spectropolarimetry revealed hidden broad lines in its nucleus, the basis of AGN unification.
- Spectropolarimetry and the nature of NGC 10681985
Robert Antonucci
Seyfert 2 galaxy
NGC 3147
RA 10h 16.9m · Dec +73° 24′
39.3 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- NGC 3147: a prototypical low-luminosity active galactic nucleus with double-peaked optical and ultraviolet lines2022
Robert Antonucci
Seyfert 1 galaxy
NGC 4151
RA 12h 10.5m · Dec +39° 24′
15.8 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- The Dust Sublimation Region of the Type 1 AGN NGC 4151 at a Hundred Microarcsecond Scale as Resolved by the CHARA Array Interferometer2022
Robert Antonucci
LINER galaxy
NGC 4261
RA 12h 19.4m · Dec +05° 49′
32.4 Mpc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
- The Central Engine of Low-luminosity Radio Galaxy 3C 270 (NGC 4261)2025
Robert Antonucci
Pulsar
Vela Pulsar
RA 08h 35.3m · Dec −45° 11′
287 pc
Altitude
–
Azimuth
–
Rises
–
A young pulsar in the Vela supernova remnant. From interstellar scintillation, Gwinn and colleagues measured its radio emission region at about 500 km across.
- Size of the Vela Pulsar's Radio Emission Region: 500 Kilometers1997
Carl Gwinn

All the group's targets on the full sky map

Gravitational wave events

Binary black hole merger
GW151216
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Source properties of the lowest signal-to-noise-ratio binary black hole detections 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW151226
90% region
950 deg²
Distance
z = 0.10
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Signs of higher multipoles and orbital precession in GW151226 2022
Map: GWTC-2.1 (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW170104
90% region
1,000 deg²
Distance
z = 0.22
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Search for Lensed Gravitational Waves Including Morse Phase Information: An Intriguing Candidate in O2 2020
Map: GWTC-2.1 (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW170121
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170202
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170304
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170403
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Source properties of the lowest signal-to-noise-ratio binary black hole detections 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170425
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170727
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo 2020
Binary black hole merger
GW170814
90% region
92 deg²
Distance
z = 0.13
Region shown on the sky
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Search for Lensed Gravitational Waves Including Morse Phase Information: An Intriguing Candidate in O2 2020
Map: GWTC-2.1 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary neutron star merger
GW170817
90% region
16 deg²
Distance
d_L = 40 Mpc
Region shown on the sky
Andy Howell
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
Map: GWTC-1 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary neutron star merger
GW190425
90% region
8,700 deg²
Distance
d_L = 150 Mpc
Andy Howell Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
- The Gravity Collective: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Electromagnetic Search for the Binary Neutron Star Merger GW190425 2025
- The Challenges Ahead for Multimessenger Analyses of Gravitational Waves and Kilonova: A Case Study on GW190425 2021
Map: GWTC-2.1 (GWOSC)
Neutron star–black hole merger
GW190426_152155
90% region
1,385 deg²
Distance
d_L = 370 Mpc
Andy Howell
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
Map: GWTC-2 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW190521
90% region
1,000 deg²
Distance
z = 0.56
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Mapping the likelihood of GW190521 with diverse mass and spin priors 2021
Map: GWTC-2.1 (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW190711_030756
Distance
z = 0.40
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- GW190711_030756 and GW200114_020818: astrophysical interpretation of two asymmetric binary black hole mergers in the IAS catalog 2026
- New black hole mergers in the LIGO-Virgo O3 data from a gravitational wave search including higher-order harmonics 2023
Binary black hole merger
GW190728_064510
90% region
400 deg²
Distance
z = 0.18
Andy Howell
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
Map: GWTC-2.1 (GWOSC)
Neutron star–black hole merger
GW190814
90% region
22 deg²
Distance
d_L = 230 Mpc
Region shown on the sky
Andy Howell
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
- SOAR/Goodman Spectroscopic Assessment of Candidate Counterparts of the LIGO/Virgo Event GW190814 2022
- The Gravity Collective: A Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Neutron Star-Black Hole Merger GW190814 2021
Map: GWTC-2.1 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW190909_114149
90% region
3,958 deg²
Distance
z = 0.62
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- New binary black hole mergers in the LIGO-Virgo O3a data 2022
Map: GWTC-2 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW191216_213338
90% region
910 deg²
Distance
d_L = 340 Mpc
Andy Howell
- Las Cumbres Observatory Gravitational-wave Follow-up in the Third and Fourth Observing Runs: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Rapid Response Galaxy Targeted Strategy 2026
Map: GWTC-3 (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW200114_020818
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- GW190711_030756 and GW200114_020818: astrophysical interpretation of two asymmetric binary black hole mergers in the IAS catalog 2026
Binary black hole merger
GW200129
90% region
80 deg²
Distance
z = 0.18
Region shown on the sky
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- Discovery of Interpretable Surrogates via Agentic AI: Application to Gravitational Waves 2026
Map: GWTC-3 skymap (GWOSC)
Binary black hole merger
GW231123
90% region
1,664 deg²
Distance
z = 0.40
Tejaswi Venumadhav
- The diffraction-lensing interpretation of GW231123 with astrophysical priors 2026
Map: GWTC-4.1 skymap (GWOSC)

§ 04Publications

Recent papers

The newest papers in this theme, from NASA ADS. Group members are in gold.

01Sep 2026arXiv
Semi-Analytic Solutions For Warped, Super-Eddington Accretion Disks with OutflowsG. Wohlfarth, M. Middleton, O. Blaes, P. C. FragileBlack holes & GW
arXiv:2609.28017
02Sep 2026arXiv
A Coherent Search for New Galactic Magnetars using Fermi/GBM and follow-up Swift/BAT: 7 Candidates and a Large Burst CatalogA. Perera, B. Zackay, T. VenumadhavBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2609.26897
03Sep 2026arXiv
A Multi-Mission Detection Framework for High-Energy Transients: Application to a 13-year Fermi/GBM and Swift/BAT SampleA. Perera, B. Zackay, T. VenumadhavBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2609.25672
04Sep 2026arXiv
Geometrically Thin Sub-Eddington AGN Accretion Disks show a suppressed Lyman EdgeI. Kaul, Y.-F. Jiang, O. Blaes, L. ZhangBlack holes & GW
arXiv:2609.22421
05Sep 2026arXiv
Probing Dark Matter with Strongly Lensed Binary Black Hole Mergers: Prospects in the Near FutureK. N. Maity, S. Jana, A. Barsode, T. Venumadhav, P. AjithBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2609.05020
06Sep 2026MNRAS
Expanding the population of short gamma-ray transients with a coherent Fermi/GBM search: a 13-yr catalogue of short GRBsA. Perera, B. Zackay, T. VenumadhavBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2605.31554
07Sep 2026PRD
Relativistic mode sums for neutron-star tidal responseR. Abhishek Hegade K., K. J. Kwon, T. Venumadhav, H. Yu, N. YunesBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2605.08569
08Jul 2026arXiv
The diffraction-lensing interpretation of GW231123 with astrophysical priorsM. Ho-Yeuk Cheung, D. Wadekar, M. Zaldarriaga, T. Venumadhav, J. Roulet, A. K. MehtaBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2607.21834
09Jul 2026arXiv
Nonlinear hydrodynamics in spinning neutron stars: Theoretical universal relations and equilibrium solutionsH. Yu, G. Nicolini, S. Y. Lau, K. J. Kwon, T. Venumadhav, N. Andersson, P. Pnigouras, F. Gittins et al. (9 authors)Black holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2607.07943
10Jul 2026PRL
Progenitor of the Recoiling Supermassive Black Hole RBH-1 Identified Using HST and JWST ImagingT. Islam, T. Venumadhav, D. WadekarBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2601.18986
11May 2026arXiv
Discovery of Interpretable Surrogates via Agentic AI: Application to Gravitational WavesT. Islam, D. Wadekar, T. Venumadhav, M. Zaldarriaga, A. K. Mehta, J. Roulet, B. ZackayBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2605.11280
12May 2026PRD
Strong lensing cosmography using binary-black-hole mergers: Prospects for the near futureK. N. Maity, S. Jana, T. Venumadhav, A. Barsode, P. AjithBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2512.15168
13Apr 2026arXiv
GW190711_030756 and GW200114_020818: astrophysical interpretation of two asymmetric binary black hole mergers in the IAS catalogT. Islam, T. Venumadhav, D. Wadekar, A. K. Mehta, J. Roulet, J. Mushkin, M. Ho-Yeuk Cheung, B. Zackay et al. (9 authors)Black holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2604.07388
14Mar 2026arXiv
Searching for precessing binary systems with mode-by-mode filtering and marginalizationZ. Zhou, D. Wadekar, J. Roulet, O. Ivashtenko, T. Venumadhav, T. Islam, A. K. Mehta, J. Mushkin et al. (11 authors)Black holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2603.05784
15Feb 2026PRL
Relativistic and Dynamical Love NumbersA. Hegade K. R., K. J. Kwon, T. Venumadhav, H. Yu, N. YunesBlack holes & GWCosmic dawn
arXiv:2507.10693

All 83 papers in this theme since 2020

§ 05News

Black holes & gravitational waves

Faculty

Emeriti

On the sky

Cygnus A

BL Lacertae

Centaurus A

J1430+2303

M 87

NGC 1068

NGC 3147

NGC 4151

NGC 4261

Vela Pulsar

Gravitational wave events

GW151216

GW151226

GW170104

GW170121

GW170202

GW170304

GW170403

GW170425

GW170727

GW170814

GW170817

GW190425

GW190426_152155

GW190521

GW190711_030756

GW190728_064510

GW190814

GW190909_114149

GW191216_213338

GW200114_020818

GW200129

GW231123

Recent papers

Related news

Physicists reconstruct the collision that launched a runaway black hole