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Richard O'Shaughnessy

RIT scientists were involved in a published paper about new evidence of intermediate-mass black holes, or black holes with masses between 100 and 100,000 times the mass of the sun.

According to scientists from across the globe—including those working on the project from RIT—this observing run by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration features upgraded instruments, new and even more accurate signal models, and more advanced data analysis methods.

Scientists on the hunt for a previously undetected type of gravitational waves believe they are getting close and have refined techniques to use in upcoming observational runs. Researchers from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration outlined the most sensitive search to date for continuous gravitational waves from a promising source in a paper recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Richard O’Shaughnessy, an associate professor in RIT’s School of Mathematical Sciences, was awarded a prestigious fellowship to spend the next year preparing for an “onslaught” of gravitational wave discoveries. He is one of 10 faculty worldwide named 2022 Simons Fellows in Theoretical Physics and is the first RIT faculty member to receive the award.

For the first time, scientists believe they have detected a merger of two black holes with eccentric orbits. According to a paper published in Nature Astronomy by researchers from RIT and the University of Florida, this can help explain how some of the previous black hole mergers are much heavier than previously thought possible.