Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is a Max Planck Institute whose research is aimed at investigating Einstein's theory of relativity and beyond: Mathematics, quantum gravity, astrophysical relativity, and gravitational wave astronomy. The Institute was founded in 1995 and is located in Golm, Potsdam and in Hannover. The Potsdam-Golm institute is organized in three research divisions and four independent research groups, while the Hannover institute has two divisions and three independent research groups.
Institute's logo | |
Abbreviation | AEI |
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Formation | 1995[1] |
Type | non-profit research organization[1] |
Headquarters | Potsdam-Golm and Hannover, Germany[1] |
Managing directors | Alessandra Buonanno and Bruce Allen[2] |
Main organ | Max Planck Society |
Website | www |
The institute is involved in a number of collaborations and projects: it is a main partner in the gravitational wave detector GEO 600; institute scientists are involved in analyzing data for the detectors of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and in planning and preparing the space-based detector LISA. The institute is also a major player in the Einstein@Home and PyCBC projects.
From 1998 to 2015[3], the institute has published the open access review journal Living Reviews in Relativity.
Divisions
- Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity (Alessandra Buonanno) at AEI Potsdam with the following central research topics
- Theoretical Gravitational Dynamics and Radiation
- Source Modeling and Astrophysics
- Observing and Interpreting Gravitational Waves
- Computational Relativistic Astrophysics (Masaru Shibata) at AEI Potsdam
- Quantum Gravity and Unified Theories (acting director since August 2020: Alessandra Buonanno) at AEI Potsdam with the following central research topics
- Conformal Field Theory
- String Theory
- Supergravity and Symmetries
- Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy (Karsten Danzmann) at AEI Hannover with the following central research topics
- Interferometry in Space
- Interferometry on the Ground
- Quantum Control
- Observational Relativity and Cosmology (Bruce Allen) at AEI Hannover with the following central research topics
- Einstein@Home
- Compact Binary Coalescence Searches
- Gamma-ray pulsar searches
- Gravitational-wave bursts searches
Independent Research Groups
Permanent independent research groups
- Geometry and Gravitation (led by Lars Andersson) at AEI Potsdam
- Searching for Continuous Gravitational Waves (led by Maria Alessandra Papa) at AEI Hannover
Independent research groups
- Binary Merger Observations and Numerical Relativity (led by Frank Ohme); Hannover
- Exceptional Quantum Gravity (Emeritus group, led by Hermann Nicolai); Potsdam
- Gravitational Theory and Cosmology (led by Anna Ijjas); Hannover
- Gravity, Quantum Fields and Information (led by Michal P. Heller); Potsdam
- Historical Epistemology of the Final Theory Program (led by Alexander Blum); Potsdam
- Theoretical Cosmology (led by Jean-Luc Lehners); Potsdam
Graduate Program
The institute participates in two International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). Such research schools are graduate programs run by Max Planck Institutes in partnership with local universities, offering a Ph.D. degree. The IMPRS for Mathematical and Physical Aspects of Gravitation, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory partners with the Institute for Mathematics at University of Potsdam, the Institute of Physics at Humboldt University, IIT Bombay, Chennai Mathematical Institute, and the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[4]
The IMPRS on Gravitational Wave Astronomy is run in two collaborating branches, one in Hannover and one in Potsdam-Golm. The Hannover branch cooperates with the Leibniz University Hannover and the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.[5]. The Potsdam branch cooperates with the IMPRS for Mathematical and Physical Aspects of Gravitation, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory (also at AEI Potsdam), the Master’s degree program in astrophysics at the University of Potsdam, the Astrophysics Network Potsdam, the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Kyoto University, and the University of Maryland[6].
See also
- Bernard F. Schutz
- Alessandra Buonanno
- Jürgen Ehlers
- Bruce Allen
- Hermann Nicolai
- Karsten Danzmann
References
- AEI at a glance at aei.mpg.de
- AEI Management at aei.mpg.de
- "Three Open Access journals move to Springer". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "Partners". www.imprs-gcq.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "Collaborators". imprs-gw.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "Partners". imprs-gw.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
External links
- Homepage of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
- Einstein Online - outreach website hosted at the institute about Albert Einstein's theories of relativity
- LISC website - website of the LISA International Science Collaboration hosted at the institute