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Faculty of Mathematics

 

I'm a theoretical physicist, working at the interface between cosmology, astrophysics, high-energy physics, and quantum matter. My research looks at new ways of probing the fundamental laws of Nature, whether by using gravitational waves as powerful new astronomical messengers, or by using cutting-edge quantum technologies to simulate the early Universe.

I'm currently based at the University of Cambridge, where I hold the Gavin Boyle Fellowship in Cosmology at the Kavli Institute for Cosmology (KICC) and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). I have also recently been awarded a UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellowship, and am a Fellow of Selwyn College.

Much of my current work focuses on vacuum decay, a fascinating quantum-mechanical phenomenon that is a ubiquitous feature of early-Universe cosmology. As a member of the Quantum Simulators for Fundamental Physics (QSimFP) Consortium, I am helping to develop laboratory experiments that will empirically test our understanding of vacuum decay for the first time. These experiments could have important and far-reaching implications for areas ranging from inflation and the multiverse to the stability of the Higgs field.

Another key focus of my research is gravitational-wave astronomy. I am particularly interested in using gravitational-wave observations to probe cosmology and fundamental physics, for example by searching for signals generated in the very early Universe, or by using gravitational-wave sources as tracers of cosmic structure formation. In 2023 I was awarded a Buchalter Cosmology Prize (2nd prize) for my work on detecting gravitational waves via their effect on binary systems.

I was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Cosmoparticle Initiative at University College London (2021-2024). I did my PhD in Theoretical Physics at King's College London (2017-2021), and my MA and MSci in Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge (2013-2017).

Publications

Model-based Cross-correlation Search for Gravitational Waves from the Low-mass X-Ray Binary Scorpius X-1 in LIGO O3 Data
R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, S Adhicary, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, C Alléné, A Allocca, PA Altin, A Amato, S Anand, A Ananyeva et al.
– The Astrophysical Journal Letters
(2022)
941,
l30
Search for subsolar-mass black hole binaries in the second part of Advanced LIGO's and Advanced Virgo's third observing run
TLIGOS Collaboration, TV Collaboration, TKAGRA Collaboration, R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, S Adhicary, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, C Alléné, A Allocca, PA Altin et al.
(2022)
All-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars using Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo O3 data
R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, A Allocca, PA Altin, A Amato, C Anand, S Anand et al.
– Physical Review D
(2022)
106,
102008
Probing anisotropies of the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background with LISA
N Bartolo, D Bertacca, R Caldwell, C Contaldi, G Cusin, V De Luca, E Dimastrogiovanni, M Fasiello, D Figueroa, G Franciolini, A Jenkins, M Peloso, M Pieroni, A Renzini, A Ricciardone, A Riotto, M Sakellariadou, L Sorbo, G Tasinato, J Torrado, S Clesse, S Kuroyanagi
– Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
(2022)
2022,
009
Targeted search for the kinematic dipole of the gravitational-wave background
AKW Chung, AC Jenkins, JD Romano, M Sakellariadou
– Physical Review D
(2022)
106,
082005
Search for gravitational-wave transients associated with magnetar bursts in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data from the third observing run
TLIGOS Collaboration, TV Collaboration, TKAGRA Collaboration, R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, A Allocca, PA Altin et al.
(2022)
Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 with a hidden Markov model in O3 LIGO data
R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, A Allocca, PA Altin, A Amato, C Anand, S Anand et al.
– Physical Review D
(2022)
106,
062002
Model-based cross-correlation search for gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1 in LIGO O3 data
TLIGOS Collaboration, TV Collaboration, TKAGRA Collaboration, R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, S Adhicary, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, C Alléné, A Allocca, PA Altin et al.
(2022)
Search for continuous gravitational wave emission from the Milky Way center in O3 LIGO-Virgo data
R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, A Allocca, PA Altin, A Amato, C Anand, S Anand et al.
– Physical Review D
(2022)
106,
042003
Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in the Second and Third LIGO-Virgo Observing Runs
R Abbott, H Abe, F Acernese, K Ackley, N Adhikari, RX Adhikari, VK Adkins, VB Adya, C Affeldt, D Agarwal, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, OD Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, T Akutsu, S Albanesi, RA Alfaidi, A Allocca, PA Altin, A Amato, C Anand, S Anand et al.
– The Astrophysical Journal
(2022)
935,
1
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Research Group

Relativity and Gravitation

Room

BL.33

Telephone

01223 765317