News

A UIB researcher, among the 18 international scientists who will supervise the LISA space mission

Dr. Anna Heffernan has been selected by the European Space Agency to be part of the scientific team of the mission that will put the first gravitational wave space observatory into orbit.

Dr. Anna Heffernan

Two invited talks by GRAVITY/IAC3 researchers at the 13th Iberian Gravitational Waves Meeting

GRAVITY/IAC3 researchers stand out at the 13th Iberian Gravitational Waves Meeting for their leadership in gravitational waves.

Dr. Anna Heffernan and Dr. David Keitel at the University of Salamanca

Alicia Sintes among the top 100 and the fourteenth female researcher in the State according to Webometrics Ranking of World Universities 2024

Dr. Alicia Sintes stands out as the fourteenth most prominent female researcher in Spain and the only one from the Balearic Islands in the top 100 of the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities 2024. This ranking, prepared by Cybermetrics Lab of the CSIC, evaluates 123,400 researchers from Spain and Andorra based on the H index and bibliographic citations.

Dr. Alicia Sintes

Alicia Sintes participates in the “Día Internacional de las Niñas en las TIC” organized by the Catalan Institute for Women.

Commemoration of the 'International Day of Girls in ICT' in Barcelona, highlighting female STEAM role models including the participation of Alicia Sintes and the presentation of the Encyclopedia of Women in STEAM.

The female advisors with the STEAM women participating in the event. Photo: govern.cat

UIB participates in the detection of the merger between a neutron star and an unknown compact object

The detectors of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration captured the gravitational wave generated by the merger with an unknown object of a mass larger than expected for a neutron star and smaller than that of a black hole.

Research team from the GRAVITY group at UIB. Photo: A.Costa/UIB.

Alicia Sintes stands out in the "Spain Public Universities Rankings 2024" by AD Scientific Index

Alicia Sintes stands out in the "Spain Public Universities Rankings 2024," holding the 25th position nationally and 636th globally. IAC3, a reference in computational applications, features other prominent researchers in the ranking. The assessment is based on scientific performance, H-index, i10 index, and citations on Google Scholar. This recognition underscores the quality and impact of IAC3's research.

Photo: AD Scientific Index

The European Space Agency gives the green light to the LISA space mission, with the participation of the UIB

The first space observatory for gravitational waves advances towards the construction phase with a notable participation of researchers from the GRAVITY research group of the University of the Balearic Islands

Photo: Grupo Gravity

Success of Joan-René Mérou at the VIII TalenTIC Awards from Inetum and UIB

Inetum and the University of the Balearic Islands honored academic excellence at the 8th TalenTIC Awards on January 22, 2024. Joan-René Mérou received special mention for innovative research on gravitational waves, using GPUs for detecting long-duration waves emitted by merging neutron star binary systems.

Photo: Joan-René at the VIII TalenTIC Awards

Achievements continue: Researchers from IAC3 once again stand out in Stanford University's World’s Top 2% Scientist List

Researchers from IAC3 at UIB once again stand out in Stanford University's World’s Top 2% Scientist List, reinforcing their leadership in the global scientific elite. Six members are recognized for their exceptional contribution, consolidating IAC3's unique position in scientific research.

Photo: Stanford University's World’s Top 2% Scientist List

Three prominent researchers from IAC3 lead Google Scholar Citations Ranking in the Balearic Islands

Dr. Alicia Sintes, Dr. Sascha Husa, and Dr. David Keitel top the Google Scholar Citations Ranking in the Balearic Islands, excelling in gravitational waves and solidifying research excellence in the region.

Photo: Dr. Alicia Sintes, Dr. Sascha Husa, and Dr. Keitel, the top three researchers in the Balearic Islands ranking

Dr. Anna Heffernan, appointed member of the Constituent Council of the LISA Consortium

Dr. Anna Heffernan joins the Constituent Council of the LISA Consortium, shaping space observatory for gravitational waves and enhancing UIB's global impact in gravitational research.

Photo: Dr. Anna Heffernan

Yo Dona Reveals the 500 Most Influential Spanish Women of 2023: Alicia Sintes Stands Out in the Scientific Field

Yo Dona magazine highlights Alicia Sintes among the 500 most influential Spanish women of 2023 for her outstanding scientific contribution at both national and international levels.

Photo: Yo Dona reveals the 500 most influential Spanish women of 2023

Alicia Sintes invited to the Grand Final of the II ProjectSTEM Championship in Asturias

Alicia Sintes will be the special guest at the thrilling final of the II ProjectSTEM Championship in Asturias on November 25th. The innovative game challenges students to lead scientific organizations, with Sintes as one of the featured scientists. The championship, involving students since October, will culminate in finals divided by educational categories. Sintes will participate in a roundtable discussion and game signing. The event highlights the commitment of Asturian students to science, promoting the exploration of the world of scientific research.

Photo: Final of the II ProjectSTEM Championship in Asturias

Outstanding participation of the Gravity Group at the Fira de la Ciència d’Inca

The Gravity Group from IAC3 stands out at the Fira de la Ciència d’Inca by explaining gravitational waves interactively, captivating the audience, and promoting science in the Seràs UIB initiative.

Photo: Gravity Group at the Fira de la Ciència d'Inca

The Gravity Group shines at the European Research Night with key support from the Balearic Government

The Gravity Group stands out at the European Research Night in Palma, supported by the Balearic Government. With an interactive stand, they explained gravitational waves in a didactic way, bringing research in gravitational physics closer to society. The event, with more than 70 researchers, reaffirmed the Government's commitment to science. President Marga Prohens stressed support for research, while Dr. Alicia Sintes highlighted the importance of science for progress.

Photo: Dr. Alicia Sintes inaugurating the event.

David Keitel becomes co-chair of LIGO Scientific Collaboration continuous-waves working group

IAC3 member David Keitel has been elected as co-chair of the continuous-waves working group of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), one of the collaboration’s four main observational working groups.

Dr. D. Keitel, photo: UIB

International award for two students of the PhD in Physics at the UIB and members of the IAC3

The research of Maite Mateu Lucena and Luana Michela Modafferi has been awarded in an international seminar dedicated to the study of gravitational waves and multi-messenger astronomy.

Photo: Maite Mateu Lucena and Luana Michela Modafferi

David Keitel elected member of the LIGO Scientific collaboration Program Committee

IAC3 member David Keitel has been elected to the program committee of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC).

Photo: Dr. D. Keitel at the KAGRA detector while under construction in 2015

Black holes of ‘all shapes and sizes’ in new gravitational wave catalog

The GRAVITY group of the University of the Balearic Islands has participated in the detection of 90 gravitational wave events through the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration.

Photo: UIB GRAVITY group, A.Costa/UIB

Einstein Telescope approved for ESFRI Roadmap 2021

On June 30th, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) decided to include the Einstein Telescope (ET) in the 2021 upgrade of its roadmap. This confirms the relevance of this major international project for a next generation gravitational waves observatory for the future of research infrastructures in Europe and gravitational wave research at global level.

IMAGE: Nikhef / Thijs Balder

The UIB participates in the detection for the first time of gravitational waves caused by the merger of neutron stars and black holes

This discovery confirms the existence of a new source of gravitational waves.

The gravitational wave detectors LIGO and Virgo detected the first two signals of gravitational waves from the fusion of a phenomenon so far never been observed: the fusion of black holes and neutron stars. Researchers from the research group in Gravitational Physics: Theory and Observation (GRAVITY) of the University of the Balearic Islands participated in this discovery.

Scientific visualization: T. Dietrich, N. Fischer, S. Ossokine, H. Pfeiffer, T. Vu, S.V. Chaurasia.

The first LIGO-Virgo search for gravitational-wave lensing

LIGO/Virgo researchers have performed the collaboration’s first search for gravitational lensing signatures using the gravitational-wave observations from the first half of LIGO-Virgo’s third observing run. David Keitel, Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Researcher in the GRAVITY group and the IAC3 at UIB, was an editorial team member and one of the two project managers for this work.

Image credit: Riccardo Buscicchio, University of Birmingham

LIGO and Virgo announce new detections in updated gravitational-wave catalog

The Gravity group at UIB has contributed to the analysis of the 39 new signals detected between April 1 and October 1, 2019 by the LIGO and Virgo detectors

Image credit: LIGO Hanford observatory, Photo:LIGO

Proposal to include the Einstein Telescope in the ESFRI roadmap presented

The proposal to include the Einstein Telescope, a pioneering third-generation gravitational-wave (GW) observatory, in the 2021 update of the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap has been submitted.

LIGO and Virgo unveil new and unexpected black hole populations

Virgo and LIGO have announced the detection of an extraordinarily massive merging binary system: two black holes of about 66 and 85 solar masses, which generated a final black hole of about 142 solar masses. Both the initial black holes, as well as the remnant, lie in a range of mass that has never before been observed, either via gravitational waves or with electromagnetic observations. The final black hole is the most massive ever detected with gravitational waves.

Image credit: LIGO/Caltech/MIT/R. Hurt (IPAC)

LIGO-Virgo Finds Mystery Object in 'Mass Gap'

LIGO and Virgo have announced the discovery of a compact object of about 2.6 solar masses, placing it in a range between the heaviest neutron star and the lightest black hole ever seen. About 800 million years ago, this object merged with a black hole of 23 solar masses and, in so doing, emitted an intense gravitational wave. Since the observation of this wave alone, which was detected on Earth in August 2019, does not allow us to distinguish whether the compact object is a black hole or a neutron star, its precise nature remains a mystery.

(Granted) Open call: 3-year PhD grant in gravitational physics, deadline September 30, 2020

The vice-rectorate for research and internationalization of the University of the Balearic Islands is opening a 3-year PhD grant in gravitational physics. The grant is for a student to work towards a PhD supervised by Beatriz Galindo distinguished researcher Dr. David Keitel in the field of gravitational physics.

LIGO-Virgo Detect the Merger of Two Black Holes with Unequal Masses

On April 12, 2019, the twin LIGO detectors and the Virgo detector observed gravitational-waves from the merger of two black holes. While nearly all previous detections originated from binary black holes with almost equal masses, this event (labeled GW190412) displayed clear signatures of an unequal mass binary. A detailed analysis of the gravitational-wave signal indicates that the two black holes had masses of about 30 and 8 times the mass of the sun. General relativity predicts that binary systems with such mass differences will introduce higher "harmonics" into the waveform, and these were in-fact observed for the first time in this event.

Image: Simulation of the binary black hole merger GW190412. Credits: N. Fischer, H. Pfeiffer, A. Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes project

LIGO-Virgo Network Catches Another Neutron Star Collision

On January 6th 2020, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration announced the first detection of gravitational waves from the third observation period, O3. The source of the detected signal, named GW190425, is consistent with the merger of a compact binary with total mass of about 3.4 Msun.

Image: Illustration of two neutron stars in collision. Credit: National Science Foundation / LIGO / Sonoma State University / A. Simonnet

Alicia M. Sintes is part of the Local Organizing Committee of the next edition of TAUP 2021

The next edition of TAUP (Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics), the congress that will bring together world experts in neutrino physics, gravitational waves, dark matter and cosmology in Valencia in 2021, will be organized by the Institute of Corpuscular Physics.

Alicia M. Sintes in the "XXV Ciclo de Conferencias de Astronomía y  Cosmología Carlos Sánchez Magro".

Alicia M. Sintes will go the Valladolid University on 20th september at 19:30 to give a talk titled: “Ondas gravitacionales: El albor de una nueva era en la astronomía”.

Cecilio García has been awarded the 'LIGO student poster prize'

Cecilio García, a PhD student from Gravitational Physics group, has been awarded the 'LIGO student poster prize'.

Gravitational wave data analysis for the advanced detector era

Miquel Oliver Almiñana defended her doctoral thesis "Gravitational wave data analysis for the advanced detector era" and was qualified with an Excellent cum laude.

Extraordinary prize of Physics Degree to Rodrigo Tenorio

Rodrigo Tenorio has received the extraordinary prize of the Physics degree for being the highest academic record.

Héctor and Rafel in "BioBalears" of Canal 4 Radio

On July 18, Héctor Estellés and Rafel Jaume were on BioBalears on Canal 4 Radio.

Graduation Ceremony of the "Universitat Oberta per a Majors"

UOM has celebrated the graduation ceremony of its students. Some of the teachers of this academic year have been from IAC3: Joan J. Cerdà, Pep Lluis Ballester, Alicia M. Sintes and Carles Bona.

Scientific Women

This event organized by the Comitato della Società Dante Alighieri delle Isole Baleari will bring together six Mediterranean women scientists, who speak in the language of the sea that unites us.

Academic, scientific and cultural collaboration Agreement between the Leibniz University of Hannover (Germany) and the University of the Balearic Islands

This agreement is established to develop programs of joint studies and the exchange and cooperation in the fields of teaching, student training and research.

Alicia M. Sintes elected Member of the ISGRG International Committee representing Spain

During the last GR22 meeting that took place in Valencia, July 7-12, 2019,  Alicia Sintes was elected Member of the ISGRG International Committee Member representing Spain.

Lab24, science and technology program

Alicia M. Sintes in the Lab24 science and technology program of TVE.

PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2019

Pint of Science, the festival of scientific divulgation that proposes a meeting between researchers and the public in bars, arrives on May 21 and 22 in Palma de Mallorca for the third year.

Ciència per a tothom 2019

On May 9, 10 and 11, in the UIB campus, the "Ciència per a tothom" fair took place.

The birth of the gravitational waves astronomy

The number 61 of the Encuentros Multidisciplinares magazine has recently been published on the internet, which includes an article on the Birth of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, authored by Alicia M. Sintes.

LIGO and Virgo Detect Neutron Star Smash-Ups

On April 25, 2019, the National Science Foundation's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the European-based Virgo detector registered gravitational waves from what appears likely to be a crash between two neutron stars—the dense remnants of massive stars that previously exploded.

Tenure track position in gravitational wave physics at UIB, Spain

The gravitational physics group is looking for candidates to apply for a distinguished researcher tenure track position, which has been granted in the framework of the Beatriz Galindo program.

Alicia M. Sintes is part of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Gadea Foundation

Alicia M. Sintes is part of the Scientific Advisory Board of the GADEA Foundation for Science. This Foundation is born with the vocation of being able to contribute from the scientists to its better and greater development to the service of the society.

Start of the COST Action "Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multimessenger approach", coordinated from our country

Spain will lead a 27 countries European project to investigate the "fundamental nature of space-time" using four types of "cosmic messengers".

LIGO and Virgo Resume Search for Ripples in Space and Time

The National Science Foundation’s LIGO is set to resume its hunt for gravitational waves —ripples in space and timeon April 1, after receiving a series of upgrades to its lasers, mirrors, and other components.

Alicia M. Sintes took part in the event organized by AEMET on World Meteorology Day

Alicia M. Sintes gave a lecture titled "The Earth, the Sun and the Weather" in the event organized by AEMET on World Meteorology Day.

The gravitational physics group has participated in Estalmat 2019

Alicia M. Sintes gave a conference titled "Ones gravitacionals: explorant l’univers" to senior students and Rafel, Antoni and Héctor played with young students at Space Time Quest.

"La física al descobert" in the UOM.

Carles Bona, Josep Lluís Ballester, Alícia Sintes and Joan J. Cerdà have given lectures to students of the UOM.

The "Spanish Selection of Science" celebrates its fifth edition with the largest female participation of its history.

The QUO magazine and the CSIC honored yesterday the most relevant Spanish scientists and researchers of the year.

Alicia Sintes in the Scientist Periodic Table

Alicia M. Sintes is positioned in the periodic table, specifically she is the silicon.

LIGO and Virgo Announce Four New Gravitational-Wave Detections

The UIB researchers team has made important contributions to the observation and analysis of detected signals. The observatories publish the first catalog of events of gravitational waves.

Alicia M. Sintes is “Hija Predilecta” of Sant Lluís

Alicia M. Sintes, from Sant Lluís, was named Favorite Daughter of the town in an institutional act that was held last Friday in the Multipurpose Hall Albert Camus.

Alicia M. Sintes in the "Selección Española de Ciencia" 2018

Dra. Sintes take part in the “Selección Española de Ciencia 2018” from QUO and CNIC for her involvement in the gravitational waves.

Leïla Haegel is named researcher associated to IAC3

Leïla Haegel has been named by the Rector of the University of the Balearic Islands, researcher associated to IAC3.

Graduate Student Pep Covas awarded a FPI-CAIB grant

Pep Covas Vidal has just been received one of the 12 FPI-CAIB grants for PhD students. This competitive grant, co-financed by the European Union, provides funding for four years and its aims is to turn graduate students into researchers.

III Science and Technology Fair in Inca

On 11th and 12th November, the III Science and Technology Fair was held in Inca. The Group of Relativity and Gravitation took part and explained in an entertaining way what are black holes and gravitational waves.

UIB in the network for GW, Geophysics and Machine Learning

Prof. Alicia M. Sintes from the UIB and Prof. Jose Antonio Font Roda from Valencia University have been elected as new members of the Management Committee of the COST action CA17137 - A network for Gravitational Waves, Geophysics and Machine Learning.

SINC agency honored Alicia Sintes for her implication in science communication

On November 8th at 6:30 p.m., at La Casa Encendida (Madrid), awards will be given to scientists and institutions such as Dr. Alicia Sintes who have helped to disseminate science to the public

Conference on gravitational waves in Navarra

On 9th November in Navarra will take place a conference on gravitational waves where Alicia M. Sintes will give a talk titled "El albor de la astronomía de ondas gravitacionales".

LVC Waveforms face-to-face Meeting 2018

Twenty-five members of the LIGO and Virgo collaborations, working in 6 different countries, will come together at this three-day workshop to discuss and coordinate the models of gravitational wave signals to be used in the upcoming third observation run of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors.

Ranking web of spanish researchers

This week has been made published the ranking of the top 60.000 Spanish researchers and researchers working in Spanish Institutions (Spain) according to their Google Scholar Citations public profiles.

Alicia Sintes will give a talk in Cervantes Marrakech Institute

Alicia M. Sintes will give a talk about gravitational waves titled: "Ondas gravitacionales: así suena el universo".

Science Cicle in CaixaForum: "DES D’UN INDRET DEL COSMOS"

Alicia M. Sintes will give a talk about gravitational waves titled: "El Albor de la Astronomía de Ondas Gravitacionales".

First National Congress of Physics Students.

28th and 29th September will take place in Salamanca the First National Congress of Physics Students. This year it will be dedicated to the physics women role.

First meeting "Science in the Parliament"

On Monday, in the Balearic Islands Parliament, took place the first meeting 'Science in the Parliament’.

Alicia M. Sintes in Naukas Bilbao

Among the guests to Naukas Bilbao, the central event of the festival, highlights the participation of Alicia M. Sintes.

Rodrigo Tenorio is at the Summer Student Program at GSI and FAIR

36 students from 24 countries take part in this year’s Summer Student Program at GSI and FAIR.

Delivery Ramon Llull Award

The Rotary Club Palma Ramón Llull has delivered the 2018 Ramón Llull Prize to Dr. Alicia M. Sintes

Alicia M. Sintes has written an article in the "Astronomía" Journal

Alicia has written an article titled "Astronomía Gravitacional. Una nueva ventana al cosmos"

Improvised direct video with Barry Barish and Alicia Sintes from the UIB

Dr. Barish and Dr. Alicia Sintes have been interviewed in an opened act to the public by Javier Santaolalla

Barry Barish at the Auditorium of Palma

Dr. Barish, Dra. Sintes and Javier Santaolalla have given a talk at the Auditorium of Palma.

Nobel Prize in Physics Prof. Barry Barish will visit the UIB

Friday 22 June 2018 at 11 am, the Nobel Prize for Physics 2017 Barry Barish will visit the UIB and he will be interviewed by Javier Santaolalla.

Nobel Prize in Physics Prof. Barry Barish will deliver a lecture in Palma

Thursday 21 June 2018 at 7pm, the Nobel Prize for Physics 2017 Barry Barish will deliver the lecture: from Einstein to the new science at the Palma Auditorium.

‘Pint of Science’, a meeting between researchers and the public

Pint of Science, the festival of scientific divulgation that proposes a meeting between researchers and the public in bars, arrives on May 14, 15 and 16 in Palma de Mallorca for the second year.

Ciència per a tothom 2018

This week has taken place the "Ciència per a tothom" event and the Relativity and Gravitation group has taken part introducing the science to schoolar students.

8th Iberian Gravitational Wave Meeting

The Relativity and Gravitation group has gathered 40 researchers of gravitational waves in the 8th Iberian Gravitational Waves Meeting that has taken place in the UIB.

Alicia M. Sintes is the new editor for Astroparticle Physics

Alicia M. Sintes is the new editor for the Astroparticle Physics, whose journal, aims to only publish papers with significance to an international audience, containing substantial novelty and scientific impact.

LVC Meeting

This week has taken place the LVC Meeting that has been held at Sonoma State University’s (California).

Delivery of the Maria Plaza Award to the 11FBalears Platform

The Socialists of Mallorca deliver the Maria Plaza 2018 award to the 11FBaleares platform to highlight the work and involvement of people and organisations in the struggle for gender equality.

Alicia Sintes took part in the Science and Technology Fair

Alicia Sintes gave advice to students during the Fair and gave a talk in the closing ceremony.

Week of Science and Technology in IES S'Arenal

Rafel Jaume and Héctor Estelles have given a talk about the Gravitational Waves.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Alicia Sintes took part in different activities related with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

"Revista Española de Física" cover

1 February, 2018

The cover of the last two editions contain images that were made by Rafel Jaume and Sascha Husa from the Relativity and Gravitation group of the UIB.

"Medalles d'Or de la ciutat" 2017

1 January, 2018

The Relativity and Gravitation Group of the University of the Balearic Islands was awarded for its contribution in the detection of gravitational waves with a Gold Medal.

The merger of two neutron stars, Breakthrough of the year 2017

21 December, 2017

Science, Science News and Physics World 2017 Breakthrough of the Year goes to the international team of astronomers and astrophysicists that ushered in a new era of astronomy by making the first ever multimessenger observation involving gravitational waves.

Alicia Sintes at the Nobel Prize ceremony

11 December, 2017

Alicia sintes has been in Stockholm at the 2017 Nobel Prize ceremony.

LIGO and Virgo announce the detection of a black hole binary merger from June 8, 2017

16 November, 2017

LIGO and Virgo have confirmed another detection produced by the merger of two relatively light black holes at a distance of about a billion light-years from Earth

The Group of Relativity and Gravitation have been awarded with "Medalla de Oro" of Palma

14 November, 2017

The municipal government team has chosen who will be the five Gold Medals of the city that will be delivered on 31st December.

II Science and Technology Fair in Inca

2 November, 2017

On 29th and 30th October, the II Science and Technology Fair was held in Inca. The Group of Relativity and Gravitation took part and explained in an entertaining way what are black holes and gravitational waves.

Delivery of Princess of Asturias Award

20 October, 2017

Delivery of Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research to Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and LIGO Scientific Collaboration

LIGO and Virgo make first detection of gravitational waves produced by colliding neutron stars

16 October, 2017

Scientists from the University of the Balearic Islands and the University of Valencia, with a large part of the astrophysical and astroparticles community in Spain are totally focused on this new landmark for science.

Presentation of the state of research on gravitational waves

13 October, 2017

Scientists from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration and representatives of the astrophysical community in Spain, invite the media to follow up on the live presentation of the state of research on gravitational waves in Washington. This event will be attended by Juan María Vázquez, Secretary General of Science and Innovation.

European Einstein Toolkit Workshop 2017

10 October, 2017

The Relativity and Gravitation Group from the University of the Balearic Islands and the University of Illinois will gather sixty international researchers from 11th to 14th October in the Club Pollentia Resort.

2017 Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to LIGO Black Hole Researchers

27 September, 2017

The Relativity and Gravitation Group from the University of the Balearic Islands have took part on the gravitacional waves detections through the Scientific Collaboration LIGO

Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo

27 September, 2017

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo collaboration report the first joint detection of gravitational waves with both the LIGO and Virgo detectors. This is the fourth announced detection of a binary black hole system and the first significant gravitational-wave signal recorded by the Virgo detector, and highlights the scientific potential of a three-detector network of gravitational-wave detectors.

The difference of spin of black holes: a new parameter to know better the gravitational waves

15 September, 2017

Xisco Jiménez Forteza thesis contributes to improving the analysis models of black hole collisions to obtain more detailed information on one of the phenomena that cause gravitational waves.

Opening academic year 2017-18

8 September, 2017

Alícia Sintes Olives, lead professor of Theoretical Physics and principal researcher of the scientific collaboration LIGO at the UIB, will deliver the inaugural lesson entitled "The new messengers of the Universe."

Alicia Sintes has been awarded with "Premio Diario de Mallorca"

29 June, 2017

Alícia Sintes, Professor of the Department of Physics and Researcher of the Relativity and Gravitation Group at the University of the Balearic Islands, has been awarded with “Diario de Mallorca 2017” in recognition of her scientific work. The award was given to him in the framework of the ceremony that took place on June 29 at the Palau de Congressos de Palma.

Princess of Asturias award for technical and scientific research 2017: Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and LIGO Scientific Collaboration

14 June, 2017

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research has unanimously decided to confer the 2017 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific and Research jointly on physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne, Barry C. Barish and LIGO Scientific Collaboration for the direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in space-time anticipated by Albert Einstein in his Theory of General Relativity a century ago now.

LIGO detects gravitational waves for the third time.

12 June, 2017

GW170104 is the third, confirmed, direct detection of gravitational waves, and the fourth member (including the candidate event LVT151012) of the growing family 'portrait' of heavy black hole binary systems with directly measured masses.

European Citizen's Prize to Alicia Sintes and Sascha Husa

15 Mai, 2017

The European Parliament has honoured Alicia Sintes and Sascha Husa with this year's Citizen's Prize for their contribution to European cooperation and the promotion of common values.

The Government and the UIB sign an agreement for the investigation in the field of gravitational waves

16 November, 2016

The Government, through the "Vicepresidencia y Conselleria de Innovación, Investigación y Turismo", and the Universiity of the Balearic Islands (UIB) have signed an agreement that will allow to finance with 175.000 euros the participation of the Relativity and Gravitation group in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

The Relativity and Gravitation group receives the Jaume II award

12 September, 2016

The Relativity and Gravitation group of the University of the Balearic Island has been awarded one of the "Premi Jaume II" by the Consell de Mallorca for their participation in the discovery of gravitational waves through the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

LIGO detects a second pair of colliding black holes

15 June, 2016

UIB participated, via the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, in the identification of a second gravitational wave event in the data of the Advanced LIGO detectors.

Two international prizes for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration

5 May, 2016

The researchers from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration have been recently awarded with two international prizes, the Gruber from cosmology and the special Breakthrough from fundamental physics, for having carried out the first direct detection of gravitational waves.

The Relativity and Gravitation Group Onda Cero award for Science and Research

26 February, 2016

The Onda Cero Mallorca 2016 award for Science and Research, sponsored by Quely, has gone to the Relativity and Gravitation Group of the University of the Balearic Islands, for being the only spanish group having participated in the first detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

The Relativity and Gravitation Group of the UIB will get more human resources

26 February, 2016

The vice president and conseller of Innovation, Research and Tourism of the Balearic Government, Biel Barceló, together with the general director of Innovation and Research, Pep Lluis Pons, have announced that he will assign more human resources to the LIGO section of the Relativity and Gravitation Group of the UIB that participated in the discovery of gravitational waves.

The detection of gravitational waves explained by researchers of the GRG

18 February, 2016

The researchers of the Relativity and Gravitation group of the University of the Balearic Islands shared the first detection from Advanced LIGO and the details of their experience in the first-time detection of gravitational waves with the members of the university community.

Two new articles accepted in the journal Physical Review D

12 January, 2016

Two new works written in collaboration with the relativity group at the Cardiff University have been accepted for publication by the journal Physical Review D (accessible for free at http://arxiv.org/abs/1508.07250 and http://arxiv.org/abs/1508.07253).

First observing run of LIGO's Advanced detectors begins

18 September, 2015

The first official 'observing run' (O1) of LIGO's advanced detectors in Hanford WA and Livingston LA began the 18th of September.

Better numerical methods to simulate gravitational waves

11 September, 2015

Àlex's thesis proposes improvements to numerical methods that are used to discover the presence of this fenomena that Albert Einstein predicted in the General Relativity theory.

The 2015 Spanish Relativity Meeting arrive at UIB

7 September, 2015

The Relativity and Gravitation group and the Spanish Society of Gravitation and Relativity organised the congress to coincide with the centenary of general relativity's birth and the start of the Advanced LIGO detectors.

Gravitational waves: after the symphony of black holes

30 July, 2015

Juan's thesis, defended in the UIB, studies the gravitational radiation that comes from the coalescence of two black holes.

Two PhD students have been awarded the 'Max Planck-Príncipe de Asturias' mobility grant

30 September, 2014

Xisco Jiménez Forteza and Juan Calderón Bustillo, two PhD students from our group, have been awarded the 'Max Planck-Príncipe de Asturias' mobility grant.

The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) highlights the research of the UIB Relativity and Gravitation group

15 October, 2013

The 2012 PRACE Annual Report highlights seven high-level projects that received large PRACE allocations and stood out for their novelty. The project lead by Sascha Husa from UIB 'Modeling gravitational wave signals from black hole binaries' is one of those 'Success Stories'.

Graduate student Juan Calderón Bustillo has been awarded the 'LIGO Student Poster Prize'

30 September, 2013

Juan Calderón Bustillo, a PhD student from our group, has been awarded with the 'LIGO student poster prize'. This is the prize for the best presented poster by a student in the LIGO-Virgo meeting, which took place in Hannover (Germany) from September 23rd to 27th, 2013.

The IMPRS organizes the 3rd lecture week on gravitational wave astronomy in Mallorca

27 September, 2013

The IMPRS on gravitational wave astronomy will gather in Mallorca more than 30 PhD students from all over the world. This lecture week will take place in the Iberostar Playa de Muro hotel, from October 6th to 11th, and the UIB Gravitation and Relativity Group will be a part of it.

UIB Relativity Group organizes NRDA meeting 2013

16 September, 2013

The UIB Relativity and Gravitation group organizes the sixth international "Numerical Relativity - Data Analysis" meeting (NRDA13). The meeting will take place from Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21st September 2013, at the Club Pollentia Resort, in Alcudia.

Leïla Haegel, from the University Paris-Sud XI, is doing an internship in our group

5 July, 2013

Leïla Haegel, a French female master student, arrived in May to UIB to do an internship for three months within our group. Here in our group, she is working on large scale numerical simulations of binary systems of black holes, computing the gravitational wave signal, and studying how to make these results useful for gravitational wave data analysts. She has run such simulations on MareNostrum, the most powerful supercomputer in Spain.

UIB Relativity and Gravity Group will put Eintein's Relativity Theory to the test with the fastest supercomputers in Europe

29 January, 2013

An international team of researchers led by Sascha Husa has been selected to access SuperMUC, the second fastest supercomputer in Europe. This computer will be used to simulate one of the most violent phenomena in the universe: black holes mergers. And which is the ultimate goal? Put Einstein's general relativity to the test under extreme conditions.

Graduate Student Xisco Jiménez awarded a FPI-CAIB grant

17 January, 2013

Xisco Jiménez Forteza, a new member of our group, has just been awarded one of only 14 FPI-CAIB grants for PhD students. This competitive grant, co-financed by the European Union, provides funding for four years and its aim is to turn graduate students into researchers.

UIB Relativity and Gravity Group awarded CPAN Prize for best science outreach website

30 November, 2012

“The Symphony of the Universe”, our outreach website, has won the III Science Outreach Contestorganized by the National Center for Particle, Astroparticle and Nuclear Physics (CPAN) for the best website. The award was announced last 28th of November in Granada, during the IV CPAN Days.

UIB Relativity Group organizes CoCoNut Meeting 2012

8 October, 2012

How can we study the physics behind extreme situations such as the collapse of rapidly rotating stars or the evolution of neutron stars? To discuss it, over 40 international experts will meet in Palma de Mallorca. CoCoNut Meeting 2012 will be held from 24 to 26 October at the campus of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB).

UIB Relativity Group leads REDONGRA, a new gravitational waves network in Spain

25 July, 2012

The UIB Relativity and Gravitation Group leads the gravitational waves thematic network REDONGRA, which will coordinate gravitational waves research groups in Spain. Carles Bona, a member of the UIB group, is the principal investigator of this new network, integrated by 38 Spanish researchers engaged in research in this field.

Graduate student Juan Calderon graduates from prestigious Cambridge Master

25 July, 2012

Juan Calderón, one of the group´s FPI (“Formación del Personal Investigador”) students, has recently graduated from the Cambridge Master of Advanced Study in Mathematics achieving honors with Merit. This is a one year Masters-level taught course in mathematics and theoretical physics offered at Queens' College in the University of Cambridge.

Playing at being Einstein

May 20, 2012

Street Science Alicante was held in Alicante from May 10 to May 12 and it brought together scientists and science popularizers of many scientific disciplines. The aim was to bring science closer to the people in a much more fun and lighthearted way than it is usually done. Our group wanted to be there and we decided to set up a video games stand called "Playing at being Einstein."

Triple Excellence

January 17, 2012

The Physics, Computation and Applications Group, which includes the UIB Relativity Group, has obtained the classification of “excellence” in research given by the Government of the Balearic Islands. This classification is part of an ongoing effort by the local administration to economically support research groups according to their competitiveness. Only 6 out of 71 research groups that applied to this call have attained this excellence award.

Graduate Student Alex Vañó awarded a FPU grant

December 15, 2011

Alex Vañó, one of the group´s graduate students, has been awarded a FPU grant (“Formación del Profesorado Universitario”). This grant, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, is one of the most prestigious at the graduate level. It is also highly competitive - there are only 30 grants for Physics students from all over the country.

UIB Scientists will research black holes with the fastest supercomputers in Europe

November 18, 2011

An international research project lead by Sascha Husa has been awarded time at the biggest network of world-class supercomputers in Europe. These computers will be used to simulate the most violent processes in the Universe since the Big Bang: collisions of black holes. The ultimate goal? To look for gravitational waves, ripples in space and time predicted by Einstein almost 100 years ago, but not yet directly detected.

Space-Time Quest, a very spacial game

November 17, 2011

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the leader of an international science project? One that could change astronomy forever and would get you a Nobel Prize in case of success? Here is your chance! Space-Time Quest is a computer game where the challenge is to design the most sensitive gravitational waves detector in the world.

UIB hosts International Workshop Astro-GR

September 3, 2011

Astro-GR is a yearly international meeting which attend worlwide experts on gravitational waves astronomy. The meeting will be from Monday 5th to Friday September 9th, 2011. More than 80 scientists will attend, including ESAS's representatives. The focus of the meeting will be the impact and scientific potential of the future space intereferometer.

Relativity Group researchers develop new method to facilitate black holes detection

June 21, 2011

The method focuses on the detection of systems of two black holes through the gravitational waves generated by them. It has been devised by Sascha Husa and Denis Pollney along with collaborators from the CalTech, University of Vienna, Cardiff University, Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena and the Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik in Potsdam.

Physics Department - University of the Balearic Islands | Mateu Orfila i Rotger Building, Cra. de Valldemossa, km 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca. Spain. gravity.uib.contact@gmail.com