Dark Energy

Recent observations on the evolution of the Universe have shown that space is expanding at an accelerated rate. Scientist have postulated the presence of an unknown "dark energy" constituent of our universe, which would be responsible for this acceleration, and would make up 70% of all the energy in the Universe. I work on understanding the nature of dark energy, and testing its possible properties.

While the standard theory of gravity, namely General Relativity, is known to be accurate in describing planetary motion, it is not clear if it describes well the evolution of our Universe and its constituents. I work on analyzing different aspects of alternative models of gravity, and developing tools to test General Relativity.

Gravitational waves are ripples in the spacetime that travel to us. Their shape carry crucial information on its origins and its travel history. These waves were directly detected by LIGO in 2015 for the first time from two black holes merging. I work on exploiting their rich information to learn about cosmology and test the properties of gravity.