On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160)  Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

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The Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

to be done in this area. Face recognition is a problem that scarcely clamoured for attention before the computer age but, having surfaced, has involved a wide range of techniques and has attracted the attention of some fine minds (David Mumford was a Fields Medallist in 1974). This singular application of mathematical modelling to a messy applied problem of obvious utility and importance but with no unique solution is a pretty one to share with students: perhaps, returning to the source of our opening quotation, we may invert Duncan's earlier observation, 'There is an art to find the mind's construction in the face!'.

Linear and nonlinear waves, by G. B. Whitham. Pp.636. £50. 1999. ISBN 0 471 35942 4 (Wiley).

To say that this is the best book on the quantum theory of fields is no praise, since to my knowledge it is the only book on this subject But it is a very good and most useful book The original was written in German and appeared in 1942 This is a translation with some minor changes A few remarks have been added, concerning meson theory and nuclear forces, also footnotes referring to modern work in this field, and finally an appendix on the symmetrization of the energy momentum tensor according to Belinfante Quantum Theory of Fields Prof Gregor Wentzel Translated from the German by Charlotte Houtermans and J M Jauch Pp ix + 224, (New York and London: Interscience Publishers, Inc, 1949) 36s

Quantum Theory of Fields

Gravitational Field of a Spinning Mass as an Example of Algebraically Special Metrics

Beyond the cosmological standard model

We classify condensed matter systems in terms of the spacetime symmetries they spontaneously break. In particular, we characterize condensed matter itself as any state in a Poincare-invariant theory that spontaneously breaks Lorentz boosts while preserving at large distances some form of spatial translations, time-translations, and possibly spatial rotations. Surprisingly, the simplest, most minimal system achieving this symmetry breaking pattern - the framid - does not seem to be realized in Nature. Instead, Nature usually adopts a more cumbersome strategy: that of introducing internal translational symmetries - and possibly rotational ones - and of spontaneously breaking them along with their space-time counterparts, while preserving unbroken diagonal subgroups. This symmetry breaking pattern describes the infrared dynamics of ordinary solids, fluids, superfluids, and - if they exist - supersolids. A third, "extra-ordinary", possibility involves replacing these internal symmetries with other symmetries that do not commute with the Poincar, group, for instance the galileon symmetry, supersymmetry or gauge symmetries. Among these options, we pick the systems based on the galileon symmetry, the "galileids", for a more detailed study. Despite some similarity, all different patterns produce truly distinct physical systems with different observable properties. For instance, the low-energy 2 --> 2 scattering amplitudes for the Goldstone excitations in the cases of framids, solids and galileids scale respectively as E-2, E-4, and E-6. Similarly the energy momentum tensor in the ground state is "trivial" for framids (rho + p = 0), normal for solids (rho + p > 0) and even inhomogenous for galileids.

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Zoology of condensed matter: framids, ordinary stuff, extra-ordinary stuff

We provide a systematic coset construction of the effective field theories governing the low-energy dynamics of relativistic fluids and solids and of their ``super'' counterparts. These effective theories agree with those previously derived via different techniques. As an application of our methods, we rederive the Wess-Zumino term relevant for anomalous charge-carrying fluids in ($1+1$) dimensions.

Relativistic fluids, superfluids, solids, and supersolids from a coset construction

The classical double copy procedure relates classical asymptotically-flat gravitational field solutions to Yang-Mills and scalar field solutions living in Minkowski space. In this paper we extend this correspondence to maximally symmetric curved spacetimes. We consider asymptotically (A)dS spacetimes in Kerr-Schild form and construct the corresponding single and zeroth copies. In order to clarify the interpretation of these copies, we study several examples including (A)dS-Schwarzschild, (A)dS-Kerr, black strings, black branes, and waves, paying particular attention to the source terms. We find that the single and zeroth copies of stationary solutions satisfy different equations than those of wave solutions. We also consider how to obtain Einstein-Maxwell solutions using this procedure. Finally, we derive the classical single and zeroth copy of the BTZ black hole.

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The classical double copy in maximally symmetric spacetimes

We classify condensed matter systems in terms of the spacetime symmetries they spontaneously break. In particular, we characterize condensed matter itself as any state in a Poincare-invariant theory that spontaneously breaks Lorentz boosts while preserving at large distances some form of spatial translations, time-translations, and possibly spatial rotations. Surprisingly, the simplest, most minimal system achieving this symmetry breaking pattern---the "framid"---does not seem to be realized in Nature. Instead, Nature usually adopts a more cumbersome strategy: that of introducing internal translational symmetries---and possibly rotational ones---and of spontaneously breaking them along with their space-time counterparts, while preserving unbroken diagonal subgroups. This symmetry breaking pattern describes the infrared dynamics of ordinary solids, fluids, superfluids, and---if they exist---supersolids. A third, "extra-ordinary", possibility involves replacing these internal symmetries with other symmetries that do not commute with the Poincare group, for instance the galileon symmetry, supersymmetry or gauge symmetries. Among these options, we pick the systems based on the galileon symmetry, the "galileids", for a more detailed study. Despite some similarity, all different patterns produce truly distinct physical systems with different observable properties. For instance, the low-energy $2\to 2$ scattering amplitudes for the Goldstone excitations in the cases of framids, solids and galileids scale respectively as $E^2$, $E^4$, and $E^6$. Similarly the energy momentum tensor in the ground state is "trivial" for framids ($\rho +p=0$), normal for solids ($\rho+p>0$) and even inhomogenous for galileids.

Zoology of condensed matter: Framids, ordinary stuff, extra-ordinary stuff

Space-time symmetries are a crucial ingredient of any theoretical model in physics. Unlike internal symmetries, which may or may not be gauged and/or spontaneously broken, space-time symmetries do not admit any ambiguity: they are gauged by gravity, and any conceivable physical system (other than the vacuum) is bound to break at least some of them. Motivated by this observation, we study how to couple gravity with the Goldstone fields that non-linearly realize spontaneously broken space-time symmetries. This can be done in complete generality by weakly gauging the Poincare symmetry group in the context of the coset construction. To illustrate the power of this method, we consider three kinds of physical systems coupled to gravity: superfluids, relativistic membranes embedded in a higher dimensional space, and rotating point-like objects. This last system is of particular importance as it can be used to model spinning astrophysical objects like neutron stars and black holes. Our approach provides a systematic and unambiguous parametrization of the degrees of freedom of these systems.

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Riccardo Penco

Papers

Zoology of condensed matter: framids, ordinary stuff, extra-ordinary stuff

Relativistic fluids, superfluids, solids, and supersolids from a coset construction

The classical double copy in maximally symmetric spacetimes

Zoology of condensed matter: Framids, ordinary stuff, extra-ordinary stuff

(Re-)inventing the relativistic wheel: gravity, cosets, and spinning objects