This is a small two-day workshop for an APC-YITP collaborative project
on "Gravitational Waves, Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology"
(APC: Astro-Particle and Cosmology, University of Paris 7)
as well as for JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) No.21244033
on "Cosmological Non-linear, Non-perturbative Gravitational Phenomena".
The aim of the workshop is to discuss recent issues in these fields
and future prospects, and promote collaborations among participants.
The following are the objectives of the project to which this workshop
will contribute.
According to general relativity, distortions of the spacetime
structure produced by material bodies in accelerating motions freely propagate
in space in the form of gravitational waves. For example, strong gravitational
waves are expected to be emitted when binary neutron stars and/or black holes
coalesce or when stars gravitationally collapse to black holes.
We will investigate the nature of gravitational waves emitted by these processes
both numerically and analytically. We will also look for signatures of
possible deviations from general relativity.
In cosmology, through the comparison of theories and observations of the
cosmic microwave background radiation, it is now well-established that the
universe experienced an accelerating expansion in the early phase. However,
the physical mechanism giving rise to this inflation is not certain yet.
In this research field, we will investigate various phenomena, including
inflation, in the early universe on the basis of general relativity or its extensions
and quantum field theory.
Through these studies, our goal is to approach as closely as possible
toward a consistent picture of the universe that explains strongly
relativistic phenomena, inflation and dark energy simultaneously.
This workshop is also supported in part by Grants for Excellent Graduate Schools, MEXT.
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