Richard Matzner

Last updated
Richard Matzner
Alma mater University of Notre Dame
University of Maryland
Known for Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge Alliance
Scientific career
Fields General relativity
Numerical relativity
Cosmology
Astrophysics
Institutions University of Texas at Austin
Doctoral advisor Charles Misner
Other academic advisors John Wheeler
Doctoral students Benjamin Schumacher
Ignazio Ciufolini
Tony Rothman

Richard Alfred Matzner is an American physicist, working mostly in the field of general relativity and cosmology, including numerical relativity, kinetic theory, black hole physics, and gravitational radiation. [1] He is Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin where he directed the Center for Relativity. [2] In 1993 he organized and was Lead Principal Investigator of an NSF/ARPA funded computational Grand Challenge program involving ten university teams seeking computational descriptions for the interaction of black holes as potential sources for observable gravitational radiation. [3] [4] His work leading what became known as the Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge Alliance [5] [6] [7] featured in Kip Thorne's Nobel Prize lecture, including when Matzner and Alliance collaborators wagered Thorne that numerical relativity would produce a simulated waveform comparable to observation prior to the first LIGO detection. Matzner and colleagues eventually won, Thorne saying he "conceded the bet with great happiness." [8]

Contents

Education and career

Matzner received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in Physics in 1967, advised by Charles Misner. [9] He concluded his graduate education with a year at the University of Cambridge. [10] Matzner has advised and educated students in cosmology, relativity, and astrophysics. [11] [12] He was one of the first to calculate what a simplified, head-on collision between two black holes would look like, including the weak gravitational waves such a merger could emit. [13] He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1995 for "his analyses in general relativity of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, especially his numerical simulations of strong-field gravitational systems and the gravitational radiation they produce." [14] Matzner's research in theoretical questions includes topology and signature change in the early universe, and quantum gravity using the tool of path integration. [15] [16] His observational/experimental studies include tests of General Relativistic effects via laser-ranging to dense geodetic satellites. [17] [18] These experiments resulted in the first (and best as of 2023) measurement and confirmation of the Lens-Thirring frame-dragging effect, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, to within 10 percent. [19] Matzner is Co-I of the LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) satellite team, the densest artificial satellite in orbit, launched in 2012, [20] with a second satellite, LARES 2, launched in 2022. [21] [22]

Policy, Outreach, & Diplomacy

Matzner served on advisory committees to the US Air Force, the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, the European Space Agency, and the Department of Energy, such as the committee which determined relativity was needed for time transfer accuracy in satellite systems (GPS). [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] He was on research assignment at Los Alamos National Laboratory, [29] in the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, beginning a Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Astronomy. [23] His science outreach activities [30] include appointment to the Jefferson Science Fellows at the US Department of State, which placed Matzner as Senior Science Advisor in the East Asia and Pacific Bureau at the U.S. State Department. [10] [31] He advised on subjects including "Space and Cyber questions, Health, Environmental and Climate Change and its effect on the oceans, topics relating to Energy and to Scarce Material resources, on Innovation, and on Commercialization of academic research" and "contributed to and participated in meetings on space security in Vietnam and Malaysia, and on joint scientific commission meetings with Malaysia and Australia." [31] Matzner participated on scientific editorial boards, [10] [31] served for a decade as Southwest Region Lead Judge for the Siemens/Westinghouse Science Competition, and co-directed international summer schools on Relativistic Astrophysics in Erice, Italy. [10] [31] His international collaborations and long-term visits include at institutes in Britain (University of Oxford), France, Germany (external advisory committee to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), Turkey, and Italy (Aerospace Engineering Department at University of Rome on laser ranged satellites [10] [31] and relativistic astrophysics lecture series at the University in Lecce). [31] [32]

Recognitions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIGO</span> Gravitational wave detector

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large observatories were built in the United States with the aim of detecting gravitational waves by laser interferometry. These observatories use mirrors spaced four kilometers apart which are capable of detecting a change of less than one ten-thousandth the charge diameter of a proton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kip Thorne</span> American physicist (born 1940)

Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. Along with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish, he was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainer Weiss</span> Nobel Prize-winning American physicist

Rainer "Rai" Weiss is a German-born American physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. He is a professor of physics emeritus at MIT and an adjunct professor at LSU. He is best known for inventing the laser interferometric technique which is the basic operation of LIGO. He was Chair of the COBE Science Working Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hartle</span> American physicist (1939–2023)

James Burkett Hartle was an American theoretical physicist. He joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966, and was a member of the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute. Hartle is known for his work in general relativity, astrophysics, and interpretation of quantum mechanics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saul Teukolsky</span> Astrophysicist

Saul Arno Teukolsky is a theoretical astrophysicist and a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Caltech and Cornell University. His major research interests include general relativity, relativistic astrophysics, and computational astrophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics</span>

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics 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 the Potsdam Science Park in Golm, Potsdam and in Hannover where it closely collaborates with the Leibniz University Hannover. Both the Potsdam and the Hannover parts of the institute are organized in three research departments and host a number of independent research groups.

<i>Black Holes and Time Warps</i> Popular science book by Kip Thorne

Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy is a 1994 popular science book by physicist Kip Thorne. It provides an illustrated overview of the history and development of black hole theory, from its roots in Newtonian mechanics until the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Drever</span> British physicist (1931–2017)

Ronald William Prest Drever was a Scottish experimental physicist. He was a professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, co-founded the LIGO project, and was a co-inventor of the Pound–Drever–Hall technique for laser stabilisation, as well as the Hughes–Drever experiment. This work was instrumental in the first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015.

Richard H. Price is an American physicist specializing in general relativity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravitational wave</span> Propagating spacetime ripple

Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity that are generated by the accelerated masses of binary stars and other motions of gravitating masses, and propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1893 and then later by Henri Poincaré in 1905 as the gravitational equivalent of electromagnetic waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravitational-wave astronomy</span> Branch of astronomy using gravitational waves

Gravitational-wave astronomy is an emerging field of science, concerning the observations of gravitational waves to collect relatively unique data and make inferences about objects such as neutron stars and black holes, events such as supernovae, and processes including those of the early universe shortly after the Big Bang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reinhard Genzel</span> German astrophysicist (born 1952)

Reinhard Genzel is a German astrophysicist, co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, a professor at LMU and an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy", which he shared with Andrea Ghez and Roger Penrose. In a 2021 interview given to Federal University of Pará in Brazil, Genzel recalls his journey as a physicist; the influence of his father, Ludwig Genzel; his experiences working with Charles H. Townes; and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICRANet</span>

ICRANet, the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network, is an international organization which promotes research activities in relativistic astrophysics and related areas. Its members are four countries and three Universities and Research Centers: Armenia, the Federative Republic of Brazil, Italian Republic, the Vatican City State, the University of Arizona (USA), Stanford University (USA) and ICRA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LARES (satellite)</span>

LARES is a passive satellite system of the Italian Space Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William H. Press</span> American scientist (born 1948)

William Henry Press is an astrophysicist, theoretical physicist, computer scientist, and computational biologist. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. In 1989 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society "in recognition of important theoretical contributions to relativistic astrophysics and to cosmology" Other honors include the 1981 Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy. Press has been a member of the JASON defense advisory group since 1977 and is a past chair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Barish</span> American physicist

Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

Ignazio Ciufolini is an Italian physicist active in the field of gravitational physics and general relativity.

Manuela Campanelli is a distinguished professor of astrophysics and mathematical sciences of the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the director of its Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation and Astrophysics and Space Sciences Institute for Research Excellence. Her work focuses on the astrophysics of merging black holes and neutron stars, which are powerful sources of gravitational waves, electromagnetic radiation and relativistic jets. This research is central to the new field of multi-messenger astronomy.

The Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge Alliance was a scientific collaboration of international physics institutes and research groups dedicated to simulating the sources and predicting the waveforms for gravitational waves, in anticipation of gravitational radiation experiments such as LIGO.

References

  1. ↑ "Richard Matzner in INSPIRE High Energy Physics Database". CERN, DESY, Fermilab, IHEP, IN2P3, and SLAC. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  2. ↑ "Richard Matzner at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Physics" . Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  3. ↑ Thorne, Kip (2018-12-18). "Nobel Lecture: LIGO and gravitational waves III". Rev. Mod. Phys. 90 (40503): 040503. Bibcode:2018RvMP...90d0503T. doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.90.040503 . S2CID   125431568.
  4. ↑ Matzner, Richard; Seidel, H (1995-11-10). "Geometry of a Black Hole Collision". Science. 270 (5238): 941–947. Bibcode:1995Sci...270..941M. doi:10.1126/science.270.5238.941. S2CID   121172545 . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  5. ↑ Choptuik, M. (1997). D. A. Clarke and M. J. West (ed.). The Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge Project. 12th Kingston Meeting on Theoretical Astrophysics; proceedings of meeting held in Halifax; Nova Scotia; Canada October 17-19, 1996. Computational Astrophysics. Vol. 123, no. ASP Conference Series. pp. 305–313. Bibcode:1997ASPC..123..305C . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  6. ↑ "Binary Black Hole Grand Challenge Alliance page at Center for Research on Parallel Computing at Rice University" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  7. ↑ Jani, Karan (3 October 2017). "Exclusive: Interview With Kip Thorne, One of the Winners of 2017 Physics Nobel". The Wire. The Wire. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Thorne, Kip S. (2017-12-08). Kip S. Thorne – Nobel Lecture (Speech). Nobel Prize Ceremony. Stockholm University: Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  9. ↑ "A Brief History of Gravitational Waves Research at the University of Maryland". 10 November 2021. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "National Academies: Jefferson Science Fellows 2004 – 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  11. ↑ Ali, Eunice (2016-02-14). "UT alumnus leads team in detecting gravitational waves, confirms Einstein's theory". The Daily Texan. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  12. ↑ "Mathematics Genealogy Project on Richard Matzner" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  13. ↑ Wright, Matthew (2016-10-29). "The Chirps Heard Round the World". Odyssey magazine. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  14. ↑ "APS Fellow Archive". www.aps.org. American Physical Society. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Richard Matzner in zbMATH" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  16. ↑ Ellis, G. F. R.; Rothman, Tony (1989). "THE GARDEN OF COSMOLOGICAL DELIGHTS". Science a La Mode: Physical Fashions and Fictions. Princeton University Press, JSTOR. pp. 3–28. JSTOR   j.ctt7zvs2k.4. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  17. ↑ "ResearchGate database results on Richard Matzner" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  18. ↑ Ciufolini, Ignazio; Paolozzi, Antonio; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Ries, John; Koenig, Rolf; Matzner, Richard; Sindoni, Giampiero; Neumayer, Hans (11 August 2011). "Testing gravitational physics with satellite laser ranging". The European Physical Journal Plus. 126 (8): 72. Bibcode:2011EPJP..126...72C. doi:10.1140/epjp/i2011-11072-2. ISSN   2190-5444. S2CID   122205903 . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  19. ↑ Will, Clifford M. (31 May 2011). "Finally, results from Gravity Probe B". Physics. 4 (22): 43. arXiv: 1105.3456 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.221101 . PMID   21702590 . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "NASA LARES Mission page LARES" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  21. ↑ "Home - Lares Mission". www.lares-mission.com. LARES Mission Lab. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Richard Matzner in Oden Institute Directory" . Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  23. 1 2 "Richard Matzner in UT Experts" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  24. ↑ Andreas Albrecht; Stefi Baum; Sarah Church; Debra Elmegreen; Joshua Frieman; Martha Haynes; Gregory Laughlin; Mordecai-Mark Mac Low; Richard Matzner; Paul Vanden Bout; John Wefel; Brian Winer; Charles Woodward (2012-03-15). Report of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (PDF) (Report). National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  25. ↑ Andreas Albrecht; Stefi Baum; James Buckley; William Cochran; Priscilla Cushman; Debra Elmegreen; Joshua Frieman; Martha Haynes; Mordecai-Mark Mac Low; Geoffrey Marcy; Richard Matzner; Paula Szkody; Paul Vanden Bout (2013-03-08). Report of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (PDF) (Report). National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  26. ↑ Andreas Albrecht; Stefi Baum; James Buckley; William Cochran; Priscilla Cushman; Craig Hogan; Mordecai-Mark Mac Low; Geoffrey Marcy; Richard Matzner; Angela Olinto; Paula Szkody; Angela Speck; Suzanne Staggs (2014-03-15). Report of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (PDF) (Report). National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  27. ↑ "National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee Members Bio on Richard Matzner" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  28. ↑ "Accuracy of Time Transfer in Satellite Systems". The National Academies Press. National Academies Press. 1 January 1986. doi:10.17226/19205. ISBN   978-0-309-32099-3 . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  29. ↑ Laguna, P.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Matzner, R. A. (January 1991). "Los Alamos National Laboratory archives, DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information" . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  30. ↑ Bloodworth, Sarah (2017-05-03). "Sci-Fact Column: Rick, Morty and the multiverse". The Daily Texan. Austin, TX. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Richard Matzner in National Academies Directory" . Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  32. ↑ International School on Astrophysical Relativity (PDF) (poster). Sicily, Italy: NASA, Ettore Majorana Foundation, World Federation of Scientists. 2006. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.