Suvrat Rao

12 May 2020

Suvrat Rao is from Mumbai, India. Before joining Hamburg Observatory and Quantum Universe for his PhD, he graduated from his M.Sc. in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in August 2019. In his Masterthesis "Scalar quasinormal modes in Damour-Solodukhin spacetimes" he made estimations of gravitational waves from the ringdown phase of a binary merger of black holes and even exotic objects like Lorentzian wormholes.

What is the topic of your research?

Our group is working on integrating the Hamburg Observatory robotic optical telescopes into a global network of telescopes for conducting electromagnetic follow-up studies of gravitational wave events. For example, as soon as the gravitational waves from the merger of two neutron stars are detected by LIGO, alerts are sent out, and astronomical telescopes can then rapidly search and detect the electromagnetic signal from this transient event. The work on this initiative constitutes my main PhD project.

What fascinates you about your research focus?

I am fascinated by the fact that the detection of gravitational waves has given mankind a new way to observe the universe, and I am excited by the long-term prospect of being a part of new discoveries to be made in the fields of gravitational wave and multi-messenger astronomy, possibly probing new physics in the universe.

What do you like about Quantum Universe?

I find the regularly held QU events helpful for being up to date on the current developments within the QU areas, and to discover the people working on them. The QU colloquia by eminent speakers are very insightful for fostering knowledge. Also, I like the QURS course structure, which covers relevant foundations and special topics.
All this motivates me to not be limited to the specific topic of my main PhD project, and to utilize the encouraging and collaborative atmosphere to explore new ideas for original research.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy exercising in the gym after work and exploring spirituality through Yoga. Music is an inseparable part of my life, and at any time I am either listening to it, singing it, or practicing on the guitar. I also like reading books and travelling with friends.