91制片厂

Photo caption: PhD scholarship student Sebenele (Sebe)鈥疶hwala alongside her supervisor, Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics Dr Chris Stevens.

Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 91制片厂 (UC) second year PhD scholarship student Sebenele (Sebe)鈥疶hwala, working with supervisors Dr鈥疌hris鈥疭tevens and Prof Frauendiener, has been modelling how gravitational waves interact across the universe from the distant past to the far future.

Sebe says most simulations cut off the faraway parts of spacetime and make rough guesses about what happens there, which can lead to errors.

鈥淲hen something dramatic happens in the universe鈥攍ike two black holes merging鈥攊t sends out ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves. We detect those ripples here on Earth, but we don鈥檛 get to see the event directly,鈥� she says.

"To measure energy and momentum accurately, you actually have to look really far away from where the action is happening basically, at an infinite distance. But if we simulate the whole thing properly, from the infinite past to the infinite future, we can avoid mistakes and get a clearer picture. This also helps us understand what happens when a gravitational wave hits a black hole, how much energy the black hole takes in, and how much energy is sent back out as more gravitational waves.鈥�

The research funded through a Marsden Grant is the first time the 鈥渁bsolute beginning鈥� and 鈥渁bsolute end鈥� of the process has been incorporated into a single computer simulation.听

Physical Review Letters has flagged the 鈥渙utstanding鈥� as a 鈥淧RL Editors鈥� Suggestion鈥� - papers judged to be particularly important, interesting and well written.听

Originally from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Sebe completed her Master鈥檚 degree in South Africa.听 Around that time New Zealander Chris Stevens was also based in South Africa, and looking for students who might be interested in furthering research on particular gravitational physics topics.

The COVID epidemic got in the way initially, but then she was able to take up the invitation to the 91制片厂 to complete her doctorate.

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Now her supervisor, Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics Dr Stevens, says getting the paper accepted in Physical Review Letters is a rare feat at any career stage.

"This is an extraordinary milestone for a second-year PhD student, but to also receive the distinction of Editor鈥檚 Suggestion marks this work as truly exceptional. It reflects not only groundbreaking scientific insight, but also a level of impact, clarity, and originality that stands out internationally over a broad range of fields in physics.听

鈥淎chievements of this calibre so early in a research career are exceptionally rare and speak to a scholar of outstanding promise," he says.

Sebe is not sure what or where her own future lies yet. She would like to complete her doctorate over the next year or so. While her dream would be to continue with post-doctoral research, her mathematical modelling and coding skills could also land her a job in many industries.

鈥淚鈥檓 being led by where the opportunities are,鈥� she says.听听