Flatiron Institute’s David Spergel Awarded 2018 Breakthrough Prize for Mapping the Early Universe

 Simons Foundation, December 2017

On December 3, astrophysicist David Spergel was honored with the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in fundamental physics for his work mapping the early universe. He shares the award with Charles Bennett of Johns Hopkins University, Gary Hinshaw of the University of British Columbia, and Norman Jarosik and Lyman Page of Princeton University. Page is currently on sabbatical at the Flatiron Institute in New York City.

Gravitational Waves from Merging Supermassive Black Holes Will Be Spotted within 10 Years, New Study Predicts

 Simons Foundation, November 2017

Astronomers won’t have to wait much longer for their first glimpse of one of the biggest types of unions in the cosmos. New research published November 13 in Nature Astronomy predicts that gravitational waves generated by the merger of two supermassive black holes will be detected within 10 years. The study is the first to use real data, rather than computer simulations, to predict when such an observation will be made.

Infographic: Star Map

 Simons Foundation, October 2017

Graphic showing the location of two stars, Kronos and Krios. The chemical composition of Kronos suggests that the star consumed several of its rocky planets. Made in Photoshop using data from the STScI Digitized Sky Survey.

A Star That Devoured Its Own Planets

 Simons Foundation, October 2017

A devourer of worlds lurks around 350 light-years away. According to a recent study comparing the chemical composition of a pair of sunlike stars, one of the stars has consumed the rocky equivalent of 15 Earths.

Release picked up by the Daily Mail, UPI, Astronomy Magazine, Breitbart, and others.

Mathematician Alex Barnett Joins CCB as Leader of Numerical Algorithms Group

 Simons Foundation, October 2017

The Flatiron Institute is delighted to announce that Alex Barnett has joined the Center for Computational Biology (CCB) as group leader for the Numerical Algorithms group. Barnett is an applied mathematician and numerical analyst and has been a member of the Dartmouth College faculty since 2005. He obtained his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a Courant instructorship at New York University.

The Eternal Sky, Part 2: The Hunt for Inflation

 Simons Foundation, October 2017

From an observatory perched high in the Chilean mountains, scientists hope to uncover what happened during the tiniest fraction of a second following the birth of the universe. Their search could lend further support to the Big Bang theory or open the door to alternative origin theories.

Short blurb for the latest installment of a video series on the Simons Observatory.

Astrophysicist Yuri Levin Heads CCA’s New Compact Objects Research Group

 Simons Foundation, September 2017

The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce a new research group within the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA). Led by astrophysicist Yuri Levin, the Compact Objects group will explore the physics underlying gravitational waves and relatively compact astronomical objects, such as neutron stars and supermassive black holes.