Dr. Carlos O. Lousto

Address: Department of Physics and Astronomy and
Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
The University of Texas at Brownsville
80 Fort Brown, Brownsville
TX, 78520-4993, USA
portrait
Telephone: (+1) 956-882-6651
Fax: (+1) 956-882-6722/6726
Office: SETB 2.262
E-mail:
lousto@phys.utb.edu

 
 

Background

I have made an M.Sc. in observational astronomy (on spectroscopic binary stars) and a Ph. D. in relativistic astrophysics (on accretion disks around black holes and the structure of neutron stars) in the University of La Plata. I then moved to the University of Buenos Aires where I got a second Ph D, this time in Physics, based on my research work in the Observatory of Paris (on Quantum field theory in the curved spacetime of gravitational pp-waves). I held an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship (Germany),  I was then a post-doc in Barcelona. I was a research faculty in the University of Utah from 1995 to 1997. I then was a "guest scientist" at the Max-Planck-Institut and hold a tenured position as researcher in the Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics . Currently I am an Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Browsville, have developed the graduate program that lead to UTB to grant M.S. in Physics, and I am a founder of the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy.
 

Research interests

I currently work in the field of relativistic astrophysics. My interest ranged from observational astronomy to quantum gravity. I am now very much involved in the computation of gravitational radiation generated by astrophysical sources using perturbative and full numerical techniques.

Research

Full numerical studies of the gravitational radiation from binary black holes using Cactus environment. I am currently involved in the Lazarus project that marry perturbative and full numerical techniques. We have also recently obtained long term evolutions of orbiting binary black holes using moving punctures: aka Galileo project.

To extend the studies of the black hole plus particle case in order to include radiation reaction corrections. This is important in order to compute the first order corrected trajectory and then second order perturbations. We can thus learn about nonlinear interactions extending the perturbative approach to not so small mass ratios. Besides we could generate reliable templates for gravitational wave detection.

To develop the theory of second order perturbations around a Kerr hole. We recently generalized the Teukolsky equation to second order. This is important for extending the close limit results to the realistic orbital case (only head-on collisions have been studied so far) and the orbiting particle around a rotating hole. I have also started a collaboration to implement numerically this program.

To use the experience gained in the black hole case to search for a relativistic formulation of the perturbations of rotating neutron stars. It has been stressed recently that instabilities might appear in young, highly rotating neutron stars. This may convert them in one of the more intense sources of gravitational radiation in the universe.

Publications

Physics Papers , citations , Astronomy Papers

Teaching at UTB

My teaching and service to UTB was awarded the '2005 Faculty Exeptional Merit'. Here I am receiving the award from the hands of UTB's presindent

2001-2002

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007      
 
Last update April 24th 2007

Meetings organized
First Gulf Coast Gravity Conference, Feb 11th - 12th,  2005.