Gravitational Waves | Sanika S. Khadkikar

Invited Talk at APS Global Physics Summit 2026

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Delivered an invited talk titled Unveiling the Equation of State Through Gravitational Wave Observations Involving Neutron Stars at the APS Global Physics Summit 2026 in Denver, CO. The talk presented methods for constraining dense matter physics from gravitational wave signals, covering equation of state inference, the impact of prior choices, and prospects with next-generation detectors.

GW190425: Classifying BNS vs BBH Mergers and Constraining Asymmetric Dark Matter

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

GW190425 was detected by LIGO and Virgo in April 2019 with a total mass substantially higher than any known galactic double neutron star system. This raised immediate questions about whether it was a binary neutron star or a binary black hole merger, and whether exotic physics might explain the anomaly.

This paper develops a Bayesian framework to classify compact binary mergers using only gravitational wave data and applies it to GW190425. We also show that the anomalous mass of GW190425 is consistent with neutron stars that harbor asymmetric dark matter cores, and we place the first constraints on dark matter nucleon interactions from a gravitational wave event.

Published in Physical Review D (2026)

GW250114 Factsheet Featured by LIGO

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

GW250114 is a loud binary black hole merger detected by LIGO on January 14, 2025, marking ten years of gravitational wave astronomy. The factsheet covers its observation details, signal properties, source masses, spins, and tests of general relativity including measurements of the Hawking area law. Featured on the official LIGO detection page.