Title: Relativistic gravitational collapse as a theoretical probe for new physics

Speaker:Daniele Malafarina (Fudan University)

Time & Place: Tuesday, 3:00pm, April 3rd, Lecture Hall, 3rd floor

Abstract: The usual picture of relativistic gravitational collapse produces a black hole, namely singularity covered by a event horizon. Must realistic collapse always produce singularities? And are such singularities always hidden by the horizon? What are the mechanism through which they can be avoided? And how is the black hole picture affected if singularities do not form? Is it possible, in principle, to reach regimes where new physical effects arise in astrophysical phenomena?

Biog: Daniele studied in Milan for both his Masters and PhD degrees, working on exact solutions in axial symmetry and thin shell models. After one year in Warsaw at the Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Science, exploring the hamiltonian formulation of GR, he moved to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research where he spent three years investigating gravitational collapse. In 2013 he took up a postdoc position in the Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics at Fudan University.