Dr. Guillem Dom猫nech Fuertes鈥檚 work focuses on the interaction of gravitational waves and primordial black holes in the early phase of the universe. He has been awarded the 2026 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, which totals 200,000 euros, for his research. Dr. Guillem Dom猫nech Fuertes heads an Emmy-Noether group at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at 九色视频 (LUH).
The central focus of the researcher鈥檚 work is inflation theory. This theory posits that there was a brief phase following the Big Bang in which the universe expanded very rapidly, and that this could have generated a stochastic background of gravitational waves. While gravitational waves from the merging of black holes or neutron stars were first measured in 2015 鈥� with contributions from researchers at LUH鈥檚 Institute for Gravitational Physics 鈥� this gravitational-wave background has not yet been detected. Among other things, Guillem Dom猫nech Fuertes has shown that gravitational waves produced in secondary processes during the inflation phase yield a strong signal which is, in principle, measurable, and that they can interact with primordial black holes. His research has proven valuable for a deeper understanding of the underlying physical processes and is used, for example, to interpret contemporary measurements of the gravitational-wave background using pulsars.
The recipients of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize can use the 200,000-euro award to finance their research for a period of up to three years. A total of 156 researchers from all disciplines were nominated. The prizes will be presented on 11 June in Berlin. Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes are given to outstanding researchers in the early stages of their scientific careers. The award is intended to support and encourage the award winners, who do not yet hold permanent professorships, to continue pursuing their academic careers. It recognises not only the quality of their dissertation, but also whether they have gone on to develop an independent academic profile and have enriched the community with their research, and can therefore be expected to continue to perform at an exceptional level in future.
