26/10/2021
Leiden Observatory Master-student Arend Moerman has received an extraordinary grade of 10 (equivalent to A+) for his master thesis research on the simulation of chaotic interactions of three black holes! The simulations, which he carried out together with Leiden and Oxford colleagues, show that lighter black holes tend to slingshot each other out into space, while heavier ones tend to merge. The research even appeared in the leading journal Physical Review D, which is all about cosmology.
His year of investigation concerned the dynamic interactions and collisions between three imaginary black holes. The interactions between three bodies such as stars, planets or black holes cannot be simply predicted with an elegant formula. Moerman therefore used a computer that calculates what happens for a short period of time and then uses the result as input for the prediction of the next period.
His new, extended simulation code also included Einstein's theory of relativity. This is important because the theory of relativity plays a major role, especially in the case of heavy objects such as black holes.
An 10 is wonderful and very rare for master theses, but Moerman takes most satisfaction from the more tangible result: 'A grade is a grade, I am most proud of our research. Nevertheless, the 10 was celebrated extensively with friends. ‘It was a tough week,' he admits with a laugh.
After his master's he would like to pursue a PhD. But even if that doesn't work out, there are options: 'I'm now working as a sous-chef in a restaurant. If science doesn't work out, I'll switch to being a chef.’
Media Credit: T. Rebagliato & A. Vigna-Gomez (main)
