Workshop Programme

Last updated: 31/08/2025

Monday 1st September 

For those in town on Monday evening, we have a designated pub for an informal meet-up and chat. We will be in the King's Arms from 7pm onwards. The Oxford people will get there a little beforehand to see if we can find a suitable area. There is seating outside and in, and the place does food if you have not eaten. The King's Arms is on the corner of Parks Road and Holywell Street, very central and is about a 10 minute walk from Christ Church.

Tuesday 2nd September 

08:30 - 09:10:    Welcome desk open for registration

09:10 - 09:15:    Stephen Smartt: welcome and scope of workshop         
 

Topic: Gravitational Wave detections and prospects (CHAIR: Susanna Vergani)   

Time   Speaker Topic 
09:15 - 09:40 (20+5min)   Patrick Brady Distant collisions: adapting our observational strategies
09:40 - 10:05 (20+5min)   Barbara Patricelli GW Observations with LVK: Preliminary results from O4b/O4c, Virgo contribution to O4 and future prospects
10:05 - 10:30 (20+5min)  

Stephen Fairhurst

. Gravitational Wave Observations and Observing Plans
10:30 - 10:45  (15min)   Gianluca Gemme Discussion session and Q&A on the GW detectors and plans 
10:45 - 11:15   Tea/Coffee Break  

 

Topic: The GRB-kilonova connection and EM counterparts (CHAIR: Jesper Sollerman)        

Time         Speaker        Topic 
11:15 - 11:35 (15+5min) Daniele Malesani The GRB - kilonova connection
11:35 - 11:55 (15+5min) Andrew Levan Prospects for kilonovae with the James Webb Space Telescope
11:55 - 12:15 (15+5min) Samantha Oates The follow-up of GW alerts with Swift/UVT and J221851-48240
12:15 - 12:45 (30min) Gavin Lamb and Nikhil Sarin Discussion session: Observation meets theory and what can we learn from coincident multi-messenger detections
12:45 - 13:45  Lunch  

 

Topic: X-ray transients, counterparts and locating mergers  (CHAIR: Rob Fender)    

Time Speaker Topic
13:45 - 14:05 (15+5min) Peter Jonker Fast X-ray transients as probes of binary neutron star mergers
14:05 - 14:25  (15+5min) Janet Chen Search for the optical counterpart of Einstein Probe discovered fast X-ray transients from Lulin observatory
14:25 - 14:45 (15+5min) Hamid Hamidani Early kilonova emission as a tool to probe the central engine and map the merger ejecta
14:45 - 15:00 (15min) Eric Burns Discussion session: The future of astrophysics mission in the US 
15:00 - 15:20 (20min) Tea/Coffee break  

 

Topic: Analysis of kilonova emission  (CHAIR: Kate Maguire)    

Time Speaker Topic
15:20 - 15:40 (15+5min) Masaomi Tanaka Understanding light curves and spectra of kilonovae 
15:40 - 16:00 (15+5min) Darach Watson The rapid evolution of kilonovae
16:00 - 16:20 (15+5min) Christine Collins Understanding kilonovae with radiative transfer simulations
16:20 - 16:40 (15+5min) Anders Jerkstrand New models for kilonova IR emission - guidance for observation planning
16:40 - 17:00 (20min) Masaomi Tanaka and James Gillanders Discussion session: understanding the thermal emission from kilonovae and r-process production 

 

18:00 - Public Lecture - Martin Wood Theatre

19:15 - Pre-dinner drinks in the Ante-Hall at Christ Church  

19:45 - Workshop Dinner - Christ Church

 

Wednesday 3rd September

Topic: Chemical evolution and the r-process  (CHAIR: Maria Grazia Bernardini)

Time Speaker Topic
09:15 - 09:40  (20+5min) Kim Venn Chemical enrichment in ultra faint and microgalaxies
09:40 - 10:05 (20+5min) Freeke van de Voort r-process enrichment in cosmological simulations
10:05 - 10:30 (20+5min) Chiaki Kobayashi Galactic Chemical Evolution

10:30 - 10:50 (20min)

Chiaki Kobayashi Discussion session: Can neutron star mergers produce all the r-process material in the galaxy
10:50 - 11:20 (30min) Tea/Coffee break  

 

Topic: Binary black hole mergers, multi-messenger signals and dark sirens (CHAIR: Lauren Rhodes)

Time  Speaker Topic
11:20 - 11:40 (15+5min) Aleksandra Olejak The Origin and formation channels of LVK gravitational wave sources: current status
11:40 - 12:00 (15+5min) Max Briel BBH formation using detailed binary models and the observability of pair-instability supernovae
12:00 - 12:20 (20min) Rachel Gray Discussion session: GW cosmology prospects and targeted EM follow-up of dark sirens
12:20 - 12:30  Sergio Campana WEDGE - Wide-field explorer for discovering graviational wave electromagnetic counterparts
12:30 - 12:40 (10min)   Discussion session: S250818k / SN2025ulz
12:40 - 13:40  Lunch  

 

Topic:  Electromagnetic follow-up in O5 (CHAIR: Sergio Campana)

Time Speaker Topic
13:40 - 14:00 (15+5min) Igor Andreoni Gravitational wave follow-up in the era of Rubin and Roman
14:00 - 14:20 (15+5min) Sean MacBride The Rubin Observatory Target of Opportunity Program
14:20 - 14:35 (15min) Francesco Pannarale Discussion session: Localizing and detecting gravitational-wave sources in O5
14:35 - 14:50 (15min) Danny Steeghs and Dan Perley Discussion session: The global landscape of optical multi-messenger facilities beyond O4
14:50 - 15:05 (15min) Kate Maguire and Silvia Piranmonte Discussion session: Synergies and efficiencies: what do we need to do now to be more efficient in O5?
15:05 - 15:30  Tea/Coffee  

 

Topic: The 3G era of Einstein Probe and Cosmic Explorer  (CHAIR: Heloise Stevance)    

Time Speaker Topic
15:30 - 15:50 (15+5min) Eleonora Loffredo Prospects for optical detections from binary neutron star mergers with the next-generation multi-messenger observatories
15:50 - 16:10 (15+5min) Alberto Colombo Multi-messenger observations in the Einstein Telescope Era: Binary Neutron Star and Black Hole - Neutron Star Mergers
16:10 - 16:30 (20min) Om Sharan Salafia Discussion session: How many kilonovae do we need in the 3G era, and what data do we need for them?
16:30 - 16:50 (20min) Nial Tanvir and Nic Walton Discussion: Gravitational wave facility horizon toward 2040 and planning for multi-messenger astronomy in the 3G era
16:50 Close