Gr@v is a team of researchers, based at the Mathematics and Physics Department of Aveiro University, Portugal, working on strong gravity and high energy physics. The group was established in 2010. In January 2015 Gr@v integrated the FCT funded CIDMA research unit (UIDB/04106/2020 and UIDP/04106/2020), as the Gravitational Geometry and Dynamics research group. In January 2025 colleagues from the U. Algarve joined CIDMA and the group.
C. Herdeiro visited Hunan Normal University for two weeks in August-September 2026, where he gave a lecture course on Gravitating Solitons and Hairy Black holes. During the visit it was also possible to interact with collegues from Jianxi Normal University. Many thanks to Mengjie Wang and the whole group at HNU, led by Prof. Jiliang Jing, as well as to Hyat Huang and the whole group in JNU, for a wonderful hosting and great scientific interactions in Changsha and Nanchang.
Gr@v students M. Brito, J. Ferreira and M. Mariano were amongst the participants of the New Frontiers in Strong Gravity meeting in Benasque, in July 2026.
The countdown to the 12 August solar eclipse keeps running! To prepare for the occasion, Prof. Luis Crispino from UFPA, in Brazil, will give an outreach talk on the topic on 29 July (18:00) at Fábrica – Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro. Everyone is welcome!
João Novo successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis with title Light rings, shadows and geodesic structure
of four and five dimensional spacetimes on July 27th 2026. The Ph.D. committe was composed by Astrid Eichhorn, Volker Perlick, Petya Georgieva, António Morais, Pedro Cunha (co-advisor) and João Matias (president). The thesis was advised by C. Herdeiro. Congratulations João!
The countdown to the 12 August solar eclipse has begun! To mark the occasion, Máximo Ferreira, one of Portugal's best-known astronomy communicators, will present his new book O Céu é o Máximo! on 24 July (18:00) at Fábrica – Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro. The conversation will be moderated by C. Herdeiro from Gr@v. If you're planning to enjoy next month's eclipse, this is a great way to get ready.
The X Amazonian Workshop on Gravity and Analogue Models took place in Belém, Brazil. Since 2012 these events have gathered the international community on the topic, often with the participation of Gr@v (including the first edition). This edition was also part of the NewFunFiCO network.
"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.
Member of Gr@v H. Olivares participated at the Spanish and Portuguese Relativity Meeting 2026, held in Murcia, Spain, to deliver an invited talk on simulating and observing black hole mimickers.
We got together on May 20th 2026 at Etevaldo's favourite restaurant in Aveiro (O Telheiro), to celebrate his 4.5 years in Gr@v. In the same day we had an excellent seminar from Hryhorii Ovcharenko, visiting from Prague. Etevaldo is now starting a post-doctoral position in Brazil. Many thanks, Etevaldo, for being with us. See you soon!
In early May 2026 we received the visits of our collaborators Nico Sanchis Gual, Isa Cordero, Gabriele Palloni, Claudio Lazarte (Valencia, Spain), members of the NewFunFiCO network, as well as Carolina Benone (UFPA, Brazil) and Carlos Joaquin (UNAM, Mexico), who joined us to celebrate the successful Ph.D. exam of Etevaldo Costa.