Malta Café Scientifique is tomorrow organising Gravity@Malta 2018, an international conference on gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics in general. This will bring together theories, people working on computer simulations, as well as a number of members of the large gravitational wave observatories.

Gravitational waves permeate through the fabric of space at the speed of light. They are caused by cataclysmic events such as the merging of stars or the explosion of stars at the end of their lifetime. Observatories of earth have only just scratched the surface of gravitational wave astronomy with a handful of observations.

Tomorrow’s conference will centre on the status of current observatories and how future planned observatories will change the landscape of the field, as well as how these kinds of observations can help sieve through the plethora of theories currently being proposed to explain how exotic events take place. The theories range from different theories of how gravity functions to the various ways that the gravitational waves are simulated.

International speakers taking part in the event include Alicia Sintes from the Radbound in the Netherlands and professor Thomas Sotiriou from Nottingham, the UK.

There will also be a panel discussion with professors Vitor Cardoso (Centra, Portugal), Valeria Ferrari (Rome, Italy) and Leor Barack (Southampton, UK). Attendees may engage in the discussion and ask questions. The event is being supported by Spazju Kreattiv, the University of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Scientists.

The event is taking place tomorrow at the University of Malta, Valletta Campus, at 7pm (doors open at 6.45). Entrance is free but registration is mandatory since space is limited. To secure a place, log on to http://bit.ly/2zmHuwe.

For more information about the event, send an e-mail to cafesci@mcs.org.mt.