Tristan Bruel

PhD Student

Hi, I'm Tristan! I'm a 2nd year PhD Student at the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (Lagrange laboratory) in Nice, France. In my work I study some of the most extreme events in the Universe: the mergers of two black holes. Using their gravitational wave emissions (or 'ripples' in space-time), I aim to understand how, when, and where these systems formed. I am a member of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration.


office adress: Batiment Fizeau, 28 Av. Valrose, 06000 Nice, FRANCE
email: tristan.bruel at oca.eu

Gravitional wave astronomy

Since the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration has now reported ~100 detections of compact object mergers. The results of the 4th observing run currently under way should enable us to explore in a statistical way the properties of Black Hole Binaries in the local Universe. With this new astronomical tool, we are starting to uncover the processes involved in the formation of pairs of compact objects and are pushing back the frontiers of our knowledge of the history of our Universe.

Image extracted from the Simulateing eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) project: Two Black Holes Merge into One

More to be added about my research here.

About Me

I grew up and spent most of my life in Paris, France, and although it's a beautiful city, I was happy to leave it for the milder climate of the south of France. I graduated from École polytechnique in 2021 and then completed a Master's degree in Astrophysics, Space science and Planetology at Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier.

I started my PhD in Nov. 2023 under the supervision of Astrid Lamberts, specifically working on comparing black hole mergers from isolated binaries and star clusters. I also take part in teaching courses on a part-time basis.

When I'm not doing science I like to enjoy the outdoors around Nice. I take part in competitive triathlon (Swim, Bike, Run), but I also like to relax and go for walks in the mountains.

My Skills

Python

R

GitHub

LaTeX