On February 3rd, 2026, our group, together with a few special guests, gathered to bid farewell to our dear colleague Ana Bokulic, who is returning to her hometown of Zagreb. It was a lovely occasion to share memories and good wishes. We also said goodbye to our friend Romain Gervalle (in absentia) as he returns to France. We look forward to welcoming you both again soon!
Our friend and collaborator Haroldo Junior visited Aveiro for a few weeks in February 2026. A former PhD student in Belém/Aveiro and now a faculty member at Universidade Federal do Maranhão in São Luís, it was a pleasure to have him back. In the photo, Haroldo is joined by our very esteemed secretary, Cristina.
In the last week of January 2026, a research school on black holes and related topics took place in the beautiful setting of Licán Ray, Chile, nestled in a stunning volcanic lake region. C. Herdeiro was among the invited lecturers, with sessions held - quite fittingly - on whiteboards set up in the garden. The combination of great science and a relaxed, inspiring atmosphere made for a truly memorable event. Many thanks to Adolfo Cisterna and his team for making it all possible.
In late January 2026, C. Herdeiro and E. Radu traveled to Santiago, Chile, and then, Eugen also to Valparaíso, to visit Dumitru Astefanesei, continuing their collaboration on black hole physics...and whatever lies beyond.
On January 20th, 2026, the art–science exhibition was officially (re)opened at Fábrica - Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro. The event was hosted by Fábrica’s director, Pedro Pombo, and brought together the head of the Department of Mathematics, Alexandre Almeida, and the director of CIDMA, Delfim Torres, along with several colleagues. This initiative is another step in sharing the beauty of science with a broader audience, strengthening the connection between scientific research and society.
The Science and art exhibit "Traces of curvature" will reopen on January 20, 2026 at Fábrica, "Centro Ciência Viva", in Aveiro, and stay in exhibition for three months.
Black holes are not merely cosmic sinks; they are the universe's most efficient reservoirs of energy, characterized by their mass, angular momentum (spin), electric charge, and surrounding magnetic fields. We explore the theoretical frameworks for tapping into these vast reserves.
In this talk, I will present our recent work on scattering of two boson stars by taking into account three effects: point-mass gravitational, tidal, and short-range scalar-field interactions. We first derive the analytical expressions of the scattering angle using PM-EFT techniques, providing the first analytical treatment of boson stars as a two-body problem.
Our group coordinated the "Numerical Relativity and High Energy Physics" IRSES network (2012-2015). Here is a list of the global network meetings organized: