Riccardo Gonzo

Welcome! I am Riccardo Gonzo, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Centre for Theoretical Physics, Queen Mary University of London. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Edinburgh. My research lies at the interface of high-energy physics and general relativity, with the goal of developing new analytical tools for modelling gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole systems.

What I think about all day (and sometimes all night)

Most of my time goes into understanding how gravity works when two black holes interact and spiral together. To tackle this, I combine modern tools from particle physics — such as scattering amplitudes — with traditional methods from general relativity, including the self-force expansion. My goal is to develop a unified analytic framework that describes binary dynamics across all regimes, from the weak-field inspiral to the strong-field merger and ringdown.

In practice, this means developing theoretical models to describe gravitational waveforms, the signals detected by ground- and space-based interferometers, from LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA today to LISA and the Einstein Telescope in the future. I am particularly excited about how amplitude-based ideas can simplify calculations and uncover hidden structures in gravity, providing new ingredients for accurate waveform modelling and, ultimately, deeper insights into both fundamental physics and astrophysics.

Who I work with

This is my collaboration network: the color of each node specifies either a co-author, a preprint or journal article. Click on a node for more information.

Where my research takes me

The markers on the map represent a conference, workshop, or institute where I presented my work: invited conference talks, invited seminars, contributed talks and discussion sessions. Click on a marker for more information.