I would like to participate in the Hong Kong Laureate Forum (the Forum) to share the latest results of my research, receive valuable feedback from Shaw Laureates and fellow young scientists, and foster new collaborations. When the inaugural Forum was held in 2023, I had just begun one of my research programs, which will have reached its conclusion by the time the second Forum is held. It would be an honour to present my latest findings and gain insights from world-renowned Shaw Laureates, whose expertise would be invaluable for my future research. My work focuses on extracting fundamental physics from gravitational-wave data (see Abstract of Research), bridging mathematical sciences (theoretical physics) and astronomy (gravitational waves), two key themes of the Forum. Beyond advancing my research, the Forum offers me an opportunity to reflect on how my work can contribute to the scientific community in Hong Kong and explore directions that align with the broader needs of society.

My research develops simulation and analysis tools for gravitational-wave data to answer key questions in fundamental physics: (1) the nature of gravity, (2) the nature of dark matter, and (3) the Universe’s expansion rate.

To probe the nature of gravity, I developed a spectral code (called METRICS) that accurately computes pulsation frequencies of rotating black holes in beyond-GR theories, enabling the first accurate gravitational-wave tests of these theories. To probe dark matter, I devised a gravitational-wave analysis of perturbed supermassive black holes to detect ultralight bosons. My method reduces analysis time from years to hours, significantly accelerating dark matter searches. To refine cosmic expansion measurements, I introduced a novel approach that combines gravitational-wave background searches with population inference, improving Hubble constant estimates even without a detected background. This method shows the strong potential in resolving the Hubble tension.