Testing extreme gravity with gravitational waves

     While general relativity has passed all current observational tests, the strong-field regime is still much less constrained, leaving room for deviations that can become important in the vicinity of compact objects. In the present talk, I will discuss how black holes and neutron stars can be used to test gravity beyond general relativity, with particular emphasis on gravitational-wave observations. I will focus on several examples where modified gravity can lead to qualitatively new strong-field phenomena and potentially distinct observational signatures. Special attention will be paid to the dynamics of compact objects during stellar collapse and binary mergers.


Speaker: 
Daniela D. Doneva
Place: 
KIAA-auditorium
Host: 
Lijing Shao
Time: 
Monday, September 7, 2026 - 10:00AM to Monday, September 7, 2026 - 11:00AM
Biography: 
Prof. Daniela Doneva is a theoretical astrophysicist specializing in modified theories of gravity, gravitational waves, and compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes. She earned her Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia in 2012, after completing her M.Sc. and B.Sc. in physics and astronomy there. She has held prestigious research positions including Emmy Noether Independent Junior Research Group Leader, Margarete von Wrangell Habilitation Fellow, and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Tübingen. In September 2025, she joined the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Valencia as a Ramon y Cajal fellow.