Dimitrios Kosmopoulos (CERN)

Dynamical Love Numbers for Black Holes and Beyond from Shell Effective Field Theory

Date
22 April 2026, 15:00–16:00
Location
Ångström Laboratory, 92110
Type
Seminar
Lecturer
Dimitrios Kosmopoulos, CERN
Organiser
Division of Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Contact person
Vincent Van Hemelryck

Abstract: A key property that shapes the gravitational waveform of binary systems is the tidal deformability of their constituents, quantified by the Love numbers. In modern treatments of the gravitational two-body problem, the binary dynamics are described within an effective field theory (EFT), where Love numbers enter as Wilson coefficients encoding the finite-size response of each object. In this talk, I will introduce Shell Effective Field Theory, a new framework for computing the classical gravitational dynamics of compact objects, with particular emphasis on extracting Love numbers. By combining techniques from quantum field theory with solutions to black-hole perturbation theory, Shell EFT circumvents the loop integrations that constitute the main bottleneck in conventional approaches. I will present new results for dynamical Love numbers of generic compact objects through order G^9, corresponding to an eight-loop calculation, and conjecture their all-orders structure in the case of a Schwarzschild black hole..

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