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Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

Coordinates: 52°24′59″N 12°58′9″E / 52.41639°N 12.96917°E / 52.41639; 12.96917
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Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
(Albert Einstein Institute)
AbbreviationAEI
Formation1995
Typenon-profit research organization
HeadquartersPotsdam-Golm and Hannover, Germany
Managing directors
Alessandra Buonanno and Bruce Allen
Main organ
Max Planck Society
Websitewww.aei.mpg.de

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) is a Max Planck Institute whose research is aimed at investigating Einstein's theory of relativity and beyond: Mathematics, quantum gravity, astrophysical relativity, and gravitational wave astronomy. The Institute was founded in 1995 and is located in Golm, Potsdam and in Hannover. The Potsdam-Golm institute is organized in three research divisions and four independent research groups, while the Hannover institute has two divisions and three independent research groups.

The institute is involved in a number of collaborations and projects: it is a main partner in the gravitational wave detector GEO 600; institute scientists are involved in analyzing data for the detectors of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and in planning and preparing the space-based detector LISA. The institute is also a major player in the Einstein@Home and PyCBC projects.

From 1998 to 2015[1], the institute has published the open access review journal Living Reviews in Relativity.

History

The newly founded institute started its work in April 1995 and has been located in Potsdam-Golm since 1999[2].

In 2002 the Institute opened a branch at the Universität Hannover with a focus on data analysis and the development and operation of gravitational-wave detectors on Earth and in space. The Hannover institute originated from the Institute for Atom and Molecule Physics (AMP) of the Universität Hannover, which was established in 1979 by the Department of Physics.

Research

The research focus of the institute is in the field of general relativity. It covers theoretical and experimental gravitational physics, quantum gravity, multi-messenger astronomy and cosmology. The institute has a strong research focus on gravitational-wave astronomy: four out of five departments are working on different aspects of this research field. Central research topics are:

All these efforts enable a new kind of astronomy, which began with the first direct detection of gravitational waves on Earth.

Scientists of the institute also work towards the unification of the fundamental theories of physics – general relativity and quantum mechanics – into a theory of quantum gravity.

Departments

Directors

Independent research groups

Permanent independent research groups

  • Geometry and Gravitation[8] (led by Lars Andersson) at AEI Potsdam. This research group studies fundamental questions in the theory of gravity and related physical theories with mathematical methods.
  • Searching for Continuous Gravitational Waves[9] (led by Maria Alessandra Papa) at AEI Hannover. This research group works on searches for as of today undetected continuous gravitational waves, which are expected from rapidly rotating neutron stars.

Independent research groups

Graduate Program

The institute participates in two International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). Such research schools are graduate programs run by Max Planck Institutes in partnership with local universities, offering a Ph.D. degree. The IMPRS for Mathematical and Physical Aspects of Gravitation, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory partners with the Institute for Mathematics at University of Potsdam, the Institute of Physics at Humboldt University, IIT Bombay, Chennai Mathematical Institute, and the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[16]

The IMPRS on Gravitational Wave Astronomy is run in two collaborating branches, one in Hannover and one in Potsdam-Golm. The Hannover branch cooperates with the Leibniz University Hannover and the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.[17]. The Potsdam branch partners with the Humboldt University, the University of Potsdam and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics. It cooperates with the IMPRS for Mathematical and Physical Aspects of Gravitation, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory (also at AEI Potsdam), the Master’s degree program in astrophysics at the University of Potsdam, the Astrophysics Network Potsdam, the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Kyoto University, and the University of Maryland[18].

References

  1. ^ "Three Open Access journals move to Springer". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "History". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  3. ^ "Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  4. ^ "Computational Relativistic Astrophysics". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  5. ^ "Quantum Gravity and Unified Theories". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. ^ "Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. ^ "Observational Relativity and Cosmology". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  8. ^ "Geometry and Gravitation". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  9. ^ "Searching for Continuous Gravitational Waves". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  10. ^ "Binary Merger Observations and Numerical Relativity". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  11. ^ "Gravitational Theory and Cosmology". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  12. ^ "Lise Meitner Excellence Program". www.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  13. ^ "Gravity, Quantum Fields and Information". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  14. ^ "Historical Epistemology of the Final Theory Program". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  15. ^ "Theoretical Cosmology". www.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  16. ^ "Partners". www.imprs-gcq.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  17. ^ "Collaborators". imprs-gw.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  18. ^ "Partners". imprs-gw.aei.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-06-03.

52°24′59″N 12°58′9″E / 52.41639°N 12.96917°E / 52.41639; 12.96917


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