The group's research on strong gravity involves finding analytical and numerical solutions of Einstein's theory of general relativity, and many of its extensions, either in vacuum or coupled to various types of matter. For our latest developments/activities in this area, please see the listing at the end of this article.
The prime examples of (relativistic) strong gravitational systems are Black Holes. They are truly unifying objects of all physics. The understanding of their formation and dynamics requires the laws of all four fundamental forces, and their physics is relevant not only for astrophysics and cosmology but for a variety of topics within high energy physics.
See here a movie made by the COST action `Black holes in a violent universe', in which our group participates, for a visual overview of different types of black holes.
Relativistic and Newtonian Proca Stars: A Tale of Two Limits, A. Diez-Tejedor, C. Herdeiro, C. Lazarte, E. Radu, A. A. Roque, N. Sanchis-Gual, E. dos Santos Costa Filho; arXiv:2606.13785 [gr-qc].
Two asymptotically flat spinning black holes balanced by their self-interacting, synchronised scalar hair, C. Liang, C. Herdeiro, E. Radu; arXiv:2605.20374 [gr-qc].
Electromagnetic duality degeneracy in dynamical black hole mergers, J. Ferreira, G. Bozzola, C. A. R. Herdeiro, V. Paschalidis, M. Zilhão; arXiv:2605.20493 [gr-qc].
Vacuum, ma non troppo: hidden matter distribution in symmetry-transformed electrovacuum spacetimes, C. A. R. Herdeiro, J. P. A. Novo; arXiv:2605.18967 [gr-qc].
Multipolar Proca stars: electric, magnetic and hybrid solitons, C. Herdeiro, E. Radu, E. S. Costa Filho, N. Sanchis-Gual; arXiv:2605.13965 [gr-qc]
Abstract: TBA
"The extreme gravity of astrophysical compact objects", a workshop integrated in the NewFunFiCO network took place in Frankfurt in June 2026. A great atmosphere, a variety of interesting science and lively discussions made a great event. The photo was taken in the rooftop of the venue, the historical building where the Stern-Gerlach experiment was conducted in 1922.
We present and study new nontopological soliton solutions in the U(1) gauged nonlinear O(3) sigma-model with a symmetry breaking potential in 3+1 dimensional space-time. The configurations are endowed with an electric and magnetic field and also carry a nonvanishing angular momentum density.