Expand sub-menus

Dr. Bernard Joseph Kelly (he/his)

Photo of BERNARD KELLY (HE/HIS)

Dr. Bernard Joseph Kelly (he/his)

  • RESEARCH SCIENTIST
  • 301.286.7243
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 663
  • Greenbelt , MD 20771
  • Employer: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE CO

    • Brief Bio

    Bernard studied Experimental and Mathematcal Physics at University College, Dublin. After a two-year break as a financial mathematician, he attended graduate school in Penn State University, studying numerical relativity under Dr Pablo Laguna (now in Georgia Tech), graduating with a Ph.D. in 2004.

    From 2004 to 2006, Bernard was a postdoctoral scholar in the University of Texas, Brownsville, working with Manuela Campanelli, Carlos Lousto, and Yosef Zlochower (now at the Rochester Institiute of Technology). Bernard's research centered on the Lazarus Project, an effort to extend then-short-lived black-hole-binary merger simulations by mapping their later stages to a more stable perturbative code.

    In late 2006, Bernard came to NASA Goddard as an NPP with the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, working with Joan Centrella, John Baker, and the numerical relativity group there. He continues to work at GSFC, as a CRESST Assistant Research Scientist affiliated with the Physics Department of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

    Research Interests

    Mergers of black-hole binaries in astrophysical environments.

    Black holes produce no electromagnetic radiation, by definition. However, astrophysical black holes will typically live in the vicinity of considerable amounts of free baryonic matter threaded by magnetic fields, often in the form of accretion disks. The interaction of black holes with this matter can potentially lead to observable electromagnetic signals, with characteristic changes around the time of merger.

    I simulate the merger of black holes in plasma environments to try to establish robust predictions for these signals, which can be seen by different ground-based and space-based telescopes, at the same time that gravitational-wave observatories (such as LIGO, or the planned ESA-led LISA mission) "hear" the black-hole merger itself.

    These simulations require solving the complete set of Einstein's equations of general relativity in 3D, along with the equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD).

    Implicit-Rotating Source Gravitational-Wave Templates

    The late-merger and ringdown portion of black-hole-binary coalescence is brief, but extremely powerful. It also yields the hardest-to-model segment of the continuous gravitational-wave emission, where post-Newtonian theory breaks down and the linear ringdown regime is not yet applicable. Accurate modeling of this regime requires the solution of the full nonlinear Einstein Equations of General Relativity using supercomputers. As such simulations are expensive, and the binary configuration space so large, we must synthesize the results of intelligently chosen configurations to form template banks.

    Existing template banks concentrate mostly on the long-lasting inspiral segment of BH coalescences, either neglecting the merger, or treating it in an approximate way that may neglect important nonlinear processes. Using the observed link between the dominant (quadrupole) and leading sub-dominant angular modes from BH mergers, we have proposed a simple "implicit rotating source" (IRS) picture of the binary that holds through late inspiral and merger, and suggests a simple but powerful way to encode important nonlinear features of the merger waveform modes.

    Current Projects

    Physics of the Cosmos science support

    Coordination between NASA HQ and scientists for the Physics of the Cosmos (PhysCOS) program, organization and oversight of activities for scientific meetings (e.g., American Astronomical Society, American Physical Society, etc.), and coordinating and managing outreach related to PhysCOS (i.e., preparing publications, brochures, maintaining and updating the website).

    Positions/Employment

    10/2015 - Present

    CRESST Assistant Research Scientist

    University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
    9/2009 - 10/2015

    CRESST Research Associate

    University of Maryland Baltimore County, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    9/2006 - 8/2009

    NASA Postdoctoral Fellow

    Oak Ridge Associated Universities, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    9/2004 - 8/2006

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville TX 78520

    Teaching Experience

    • Course Lecturer, Penn State University: Phys 265 (modern algebra-based physics) June 2001 – August 2001
    • Teaching Assistant, Penn State University: Phys 201, 202, 204, 211 August 1998 – May 2000

    Education

    • B. Sc. in Experimental Physics and Mathematical Physics (1995) University College, Dublin
    • M. Sc. in Mathematical Physics (1996) University College, Dublin
    • Ph. D. in Physics (2004) Pennsylvania State University

    Professional Service

    Refereeing

    • Referee for Physical Review D, Physical Review Letters, Classical and Quantum Gravity
    • 2016 Reviewer of the Year, Classical and Quantum Gravity
    • Member of Classical and Quantum Gravity Advisory Panel (Jan 2018 - Jan 2020)

    Publications

    Refereed

    Werneck, L. R., Z. B. Etienne, A. Murguia-Berthier, et al. R. Haas, F. Cipolletta, S. C. Noble, L. Ennoggi, F. G. Lopez Armengol, B. Giacomazzo, T. Assumpção, J. Faber, T. Gupte, B. J. Kelly, and J. H. Krolik. 2023. "Addition of tabulated equation of state and neutrino leakage support to illinoisgrmhd." Physical Review D, 107 (4): 044037 [10.1103/physrevd.107.044037]

    Lopez Armengol, F. G., Z. B. Etienne, S. C. Noble, et al. B. J. Kelly, L. R. Werneck, B. Drachler, M. Campanelli, F. Cipolletta, Y. Zlochower, A. Murguia-Berthier, L. Ennoggi, M. Avara, R. Ciolfi, J. Faber, G. Fiacco, B. Giacomazzo, T. Gupte, T. Ha, J. H. Krolik, V. Mewes, R. O’Shaughnessy, J. M. Rueda-Becerril, and J. Schnittman. 2022. "Handing off the outcome of binary neutron star mergers for accurate and long-term postmerger simulations." Physical Review D, 106 (8): 083015 [10.1103/physrevd.106.083015]

    Murguia-Berthier, A., S. C. Noble, L. F. Roberts, et al. E. Ramirez-Ruiz, L. R. Werneck, M. Kolacki, Z. B. Etienne, M. Avara, M. Campanelli, R. Ciolfi, F. Cipolletta, B. Drachler, L. Ennoggi, J. Faber, G. Fiacco, B. Giacomazzo, T. Gupte, T. Ha, B. J. Kelly, J. H. Krolik, F. G. Lopez Armengol, B. Margalit, T. Moon, J. D. Schnittman, R. O'Shaughnessy, J. M. Rueda-Becerril, Y. Zenati, and Y. Zlochower. 2021. "HARM3D+NUC: A new method for simulating the post-merger phase of binary neutron star mergers with GRMHD, tabulated EOS and neutrino leakage." Astrophysical Journal, 919 (2): 95-110 [10.3847/1538-4357/ac1119]

    Kelly, B. J., Z. B. Etienne, J. Golomb, et al. J. D. Schnittman, J. G. Baker, S. C. Noble, and G. Ryan. 2021. "Electromagnetic emission from a binary black hole merger remnant in plasma: Field alignment and plasma temperature." Physical Review D, 103 (6): 063039 [10.1103/physrevd.103.063039]

    Porth, O., K. Chatterjee, R. Narayan, et al. C. F. Gammie, Y. Mizuno, P. Anninos, J. G. Baker, M. Bugli, C.-K. Chan, J. Davelaar, L. D. Zanna, Z. B. Etienne, P. C. Fragile, B. J. Kelly, M. Liska, S. Markoff, J. C. McKinney, B. Mishra, S. C. Noble, H. Olivares, B. Prather, L. Rezzolla, B. R. Ryan, J. M. Stone, N. Tomei, C. J. White, Z. Younsi, K. Akiyama, A. Alberdi, W. Alef, K. Asada, R. Azulay, A.-K. Baczko, D. Ball, M. Baloković, J. Barrett, D. Bintley, L. Blackburn, W. Boland, K. L. Bouman, G. C. Bower, M. Bremer, C. D. Brinkerink, R. Brissenden, S. Britzen, A. E. Broderick, D. Broguiere, T. Bronzwaer, D.-Y. Byun, J. E. Carlstrom, A. Chael, S. Chatterjee, M.-T. Chen, Y. Chen, I. Cho, P. Christian, J. E. Conway, J. M. Cordes, G. B. Crew, Y. Cui, M. De Laurentis, R. Deane, J. Dempsey, G. Desvignes, S. S. Doeleman, R. P. Eatough, H. Falcke, V. L. Fish, E. Fomalont, R. Fraga-Encinas, B. Freeman, P. Friberg, C. M. Fromm, J. L. Gómez, P. Galison, R. García, O. Gentaz, B. Georgiev, C. Goddi, R. Gold, M. Gu, M. Gurwell, K. Hada, M. H. Hecht, R. Hesper, L. C. Ho, P. Ho, M. Honma, C.-W. L. Huang, L. Huang, D. H. Hughes, S. Ikeda, M. Inoue, S. Issaoun, D. J. James, B. T. Jannuzi, M. Janssen, B. Jeter, W. Jiang, M. D. Johnson, S. Jorstad, T. Jung, M. Karami, R. Karuppusamy, T. Kawashima, G. K. Keating, M. Kettenis, J.-Y. Kim, J. Kim, J. Kim, M. Kino, J. Y. Koay, P. M. Koch, S. Koyama, M. Kramer, C. Kramer, T. P. Krichbaum, C.-Y. Kuo, T. R. Lauer, S.-S. Lee, Y.-R. Li, Z. Li, M. Lindqvist, K. Liu, E. Liuzzo, W.-P. Lo, A. P. Lobanov, L. Loinard, C. Lonsdale, R.-S. Lu, N. R. MacDonald, J. Mao, D. P. Marrone, A. P. Marscher, I. Martí-Vidal, S. Matsushita, L. D. Matthews, L. Medeiros, K. M. Menten, I. Mizuno, J. M. Moran, K. Moriyama, M. Moscibrodzka, C. Müller, H. Nagai, N. M. Nagar, M. Nakamura, G. Narayanan, I. Natarajan, R. Neri, C. Ni, A. Noutsos, H. Okino, T. Oyama, F. Özel, D. C. Palumbo, N. Patel, U.-L. Pen, D. W. Pesce, V. Piétu, R. Plambeck, A. PopStefanija, J. A. Preciado-López, D. Psaltis, H.-Y. Pu, V. Ramakrishnan, R. Rao, M. G. Rawlings, A. W. Raymond, B. Ripperda, F. Roelofs, A. Rogers, E. Ros, M. Rose, A. Roshanineshat, H. Rottmann, A. L. Roy, C. Ruszczyk, K. L. Rygl, S. Sánchez, D. Sánchez-Arguelles, M. Sasada, T. Savolainen, F. P. Schloerb, K.-F. Schuster, L. Shao, Z. Shen, D. Small, B. W. Sohn, J. SooHoo, F. Tazaki, P. Tiede, R. P. Tilanus, M. Titus, K. Toma, P. Torne, T. Trent, S. Trippe, S. Tsuda, I. V. Bemmel, H. J. van Langevelde, D. R. van Rossum, J. Wagner, J. Wardle, J. Weintroub, N. Wex, R. Wharton, M. Wielgus, G. N. Wong, Q. Wu, K. Young, A. Young, F. Yuan, Y.-F. Yuan, J. A. Zensus, G. Zhao, S.-S. Zhao, Z. Zhu, and The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. 2019. "The Event Horizon General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Code Comparison Project." The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 243 (2): 26 [10.3847/1538-4365/ab29fd]

    Schnittman, J. D., T. Dal Canton, J. Camp, D. Tsang, and B. J. Kelly. 2018. "Electromagnetic Chirps from Neutron Star-Black Hole Mergers." The Astrophysical Journal, 853: 123 [10.3847/1538-4357/aaa08b]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, Z. B. Etienne, B. Giacomazzo, and J. D. Schnittman. 2017. "Prompt electromagnetic transients from binary black hole mergers ." Physical Review D, 96: 123003 [10.1103/PhysRevD.96.123003]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, Z. B. Etienne, B. Giacomazzo, and J. Schnittman. 2017. "Prompt Electromagnetic Transients from Binary Black Hole Mergers." Physical Review D, 96: 123003.

    Etienne, Z. B., J. G. Baker, V. Paschalidis, B. J. Kelly, and S. L. Shapiro. 2014. "Improved moving puncture gauge conditions for compact binary evolutions." Physical Review D, 90: 064032 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.90.064032]

    Littenberg, T. B., J. G. Baker, A. Buonanno, and B. J. Kelly. 2013. "Systematic biases in parameter estimation of binary black-hole mergers." Physical Review D, 87: 104003 [10.1103/PhysRevD.87.104003]

    Kelly, B. J., and J. G. Baker. 2013. "Decoding mode mixing in black-hole merger ringdown." Physical Review D, 87: 084004 [10.1103/PhysRevD.87.084004]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, S. T. McWilliams, and J. M. Centrella. 2011. "Mergers of black-hole binaries with aligned spins: Waveform characteristics." Physical Review D, 84: 084009 [10.1103/PhysRevD.84.084009]

    Mundim, B. C., B. J. Kelly, H. Nakano, Y. Zlochower, and M. Campanelli. 2011. "Hybrid black-hole binary initial data." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 28: 134003 [doi:10.1088/0264-9381/28/13/134003]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2011. "Merging Black Holes." Contemporary Physics, 52: 1 [10.1080/00107514.2010.520908]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2010. "The final merger of black-hole binaries." Annual Reviews of Nuclear and Particle Science, 60: 75 [10.1146/annurev.nucl.010909.083246]

    Kelly, B. J., W. Tichy, Y. Zlochower, M. Campanelli, and B. F. Whiting. 2010. "Post-Newtonian Initial Data with Waves: Progress in Evolution." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 27: 114005 [doi:10.1088/0264-9381/27/11/114005]

    McWilliams, S. T., (. I. Thorpe, J. G. Baker, and B. J. Kelly. 2010. "Impact of mergers on LISA parameter estimation for nonspinning black hole binaries." Physical Review D, 81: 064014 [10.1103/PhysRevD.81.064014]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2010. "Black-hole binaries, gravitational waves, and numerical relativity." Reviews of Modern Physics, 82: 3069-3119 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/RevModPhys.82.3069]

    van Meter, J. R., M. C. Miller, J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, and B. J. Kelly. 2010. "Test of a General Formula for Black Hole Gravitational Wave Kicks." The Astrophysical Journal, 719: 1427 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0004-637X/719/2/1427]

    McWilliams, S. T., B. J. Kelly, and J. G. Baker. 2010. "Observing mergers of nonspinning black-hole binaries." Physical Review D, 82: 024014 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.82.024014]

    van Meter, J. R., J. H. Wise, M. C. Miller, et al. C. S. Reynolds, J. Centrella, J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, B. J. Kelly, and S. T. McWilliams. 2010. "Modeling Flows around Merging Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 711: L89 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/2041-8205/711/2/L89]

    Thorpe, J. I., S. T. McWilliams, B. J. Kelly, et al. R. P. Fahey, K. A. Arnaud, and J. G. Baker. 2009. "LISA parameter estimation using numerical merger waveforms." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 26: 094026 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/9/094026]

    Hannam, M., S. Husa, J. G. Baker, et al. M. Boyle, B. Brügmann, T. Chu, N. Dorband, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, B. J. Kelly, L. E. Kidder, P. Laguna, K. D. Matthews, J. R. Van Meter, H. P. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, C. Reisswig, M. A. Scheel, and D. Shoemaker. 2009. "Samurai project: Verifying the consistency of black-hole-binary waveforms for gravitational-wave detection." Physical Review D, 79: 084025 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.79.084025]

    Cadonati, L., B. Aylott, J. G. Baker, et al. W. D. Boggs, M. Boyle, P. R. Brady, D. A. Brown, B. Brügmann, L. T. Buchman, A. Buonanno, J. Camp, M. Campanelli, J. Centrella, S. Chatterji, N. Christensen, T. Chu, P. Diener, N. Dorband, Z. B. Etienne, J. Faber, S. Fairhurst, B. Farr, S. Fischetti, G. Guidi, L. M. Goggin, M. Hannam, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, S. Husa, V. Kalogera, D. Keppel, L. E. Kidder, B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, P. Laguna, C. O. Lousto, I. Mandel, P. Marronetti, R. Matzner, S. T. McWilliams, K. D. Matthews, R. A. Mercer, S. R. Mohapatra, A. H. Mroué, H. Nakano, E. Ochsner, Y. Pan, L. Pekowsky, H. P. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, F. Pretorius, V. Raymond, C. Reisswig, L. Rezzolla, O. Rinne, C. Robinson, C. Röver, L. Santamaría, B. Sathyaprakash, M. A. Scheel, E. Schnetter, J. Seiler, S. L. Shapiro, D. Shoemaker, U. Sperhake, A. Stroeer, R. Sturani, W. Tichy, Y. T. Liu, M. van der Sluys, J. R. van Meter, R. Vaulin, A. Vecchio, J. Veitch, A. Viceré, J. T. Whelan, and Y. Zlochower. 2009. "Status of NINJA: the Numerical INJection Analysis project." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 26: 4008 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/11/114008]

    Aylott, B., J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, et al. M. Boyle, P. R. Brady, D. A. Brown, B. Brügmann, L. T. Buchman, A. Buonanno, L. Cadonati, J. Camp, M. Campanelli, J. Centrella, S. Chatterji, N. Christensen, T. Chu, P. Diener, N. Dorband, Z. B. Etienne, J. Faber, S. Fairhurst, B. Farr, S. Fischetti, G. Guidi, L. M. Goggin, M. Hannam, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, S. Husa, V. Kalogera, D. Keppel, L. E. Kidder, B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, P. Laguna, C. O. Lousto, I. Mandel, P. Marronetti, R. Matzner, S. T. McWilliams, K. D. Matthews, R. A. Mercer, S. R. Mohapatra, A. H. Mroué, H. Nakano, E. Ochsner, Y. Pan, L. Pekowsky, H. A. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, F. Pretorius, V. Raymond, C. Reisswig, L. Rezzolla, O. Rinne, C. Robinson, C. Röver, L. Santamaría, B. Sathyaprakash, M. A. Scheel, E. Schnetter, J. Seiler, S. L. Shapiro, D. Shoemaker, U. Sperhake, A. Stroeer, R. Sturani, W. Tichy, Y. T. Liu, M. van der Sluys, J. R. van Meter, R. Vaulin, A. Vecchio, J. Veitch, A. Viceré, J. T. Whelan, and Y. Zlochower. 2009. "Testing gravitational-wave searches with numerical relativity waveforms: results from the first Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 26: 5008 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/16/165008]

    Schnittman, J. D., A. Buonanno, J. R. Van Meter, et al. J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, and S. T. McWilliams. 2008. "Anatomy of the binary black hole recoil: A multipolar analysis." Physical Review D, 77: 044031 [10.1103/PhysRevD.77.044031]

    Pan, Y., A. Buonanno, J. G. Baker, et al. J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, F. Pretorius, and J. R. Van Meter. 2008. "Data-analysis driven comparison of analytic and numerical coalescing binary waveforms: Nonspinning case." Physical Review D, 77: 024014 [10.1103/PhysRevD.77.024014]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, M. C. Miller, and J. R. van Meter. 2008. "Modeling Kicks from the Merger of Generic Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal, 682: L29 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1086/590927]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. M. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, and J. R. Van Meter. 2008. "Mergers of nonspinning black-hole binaries: Gravitational radiation characteristics." Physical Review D, 78: 044046 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.78.044046]

    Buonanno, A., Y. Pan, J. G. Baker, et al. J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Approaching faithful templates for non-spinning binary black holes using the effective-one-body approach." Physical Review D, 76: 104049 [10.1103/PhysRevD.76.104049]

    Baker, J. G., J. R. Van Meter, S. T. McWilliams, J. M. Centrella, and B. J. Kelly. 2007. "Consistency of post-Newtonian waveforms with numerical relativity." Physical Review Letters, 99: 181101 [10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.181101]

    Kelly, B. J., W. Tichy, M. Campanelli, and B. F. Whiting. 2007. "Black hole puncture initial data with realistic gravitational wave content." Physical Review D, 76: 024008 [ 10.1103/PhysRevD.76.024008]

    Choi, D.-I., B. J. Kelly, W. D. Boggs, et al. J. G. Baker, J. M. Centrella, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Recoiling from a kick in the head-on collision of spinning black holes." Physical Review D, 76: 104026 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.76.104026]

    Baker, J. G., S. T. McWilliams, J. R. Van Meter, et al. J. M. Centrella, D.-I. Choi, B. J. Kelly, and M. Koppitz. 2007. "Binary black hole late inspiral: Simulations for gravitational wave observations." Physical Review D, 75: 124024 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.75.124024]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, M. C. Miller, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Modeling Kicks from the Merger of Nonprecessing Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal, 668: 1140 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1086/521330]

    Campanelli, M., B. J. Kelly, and C. O. Lousto. 2006. "The Lazarus Project. II. Spacelike extraction with the quasi-Kinnersley tetrad." Physical Review D, 73: 064005 [10.1103/PhysRevD.73.064005]

    Sperhake, U., B. J. Kelly, P. Laguna, K. L. Smith, and E. Schnetter. 2005. "Black hole head-on collisions and gravitational waves with fixed mesh-refinement and dynamic singularity excision." Physical Review D, 71: 124042 [10.1103/PhysRevD.71.124042]

    Sperhake, U., K. L. Smith, B. J. Kelly, P. Laguna, and D. M. Shoemaker. 2004. "Impact of densitized lapse slicings on evolutions of a wobbling black hole." Physical Review D, 69: 024012 [10.1103/PhysRevD.69.024012]

    Dreyer, O., B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, et al. L. S. Finn, D. Garrison, and R. Lopez-Aleman. 2004. "Black-hole spectroscopy: testing general relativity through gravitational-wave observations." Classical and Quantum Gravity, 21: 787 [10.1088/0264-9381/21/4/003]

    Kelly, B. J., P. Laguna, K. Lockitch, et al. J. Pullin, E. Schnetter, D. M. Shoemaker, and M. Tiglio. 2001. "Cure for unstable numerical evolutions of single black holes: Adjusting the standard ADM equations in the spherically symmetric case." Physical Review D, 64: 084013 [10.1103/PhysRevD.64.084013]

    Selected Public Outreach

    Ask an Astrophysicist 11 / 2011 - Present
    https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ask_astro/ask_an_astronomer.html

    Volunteer for one-week shifts as part of two-person team answering questions on astronomy & astrophysics, collected through the Ask an Astrophysicist web page.

    NASA Science Live: Black Holes 101 11 / 2019 - 11 / 2019
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmCT0ZOYjHg&t=1406s

    Participated in an episode of NASA's Science Live program, discussing what black holes are, and how we deterct them.

    Professional Societies

    American Physical Society, 1999 - Present
    International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation, 2007 - Present
    Institute of Physics (U.K.), 2008 - Present
    American Astronomical Society, 2013 - Present

    Brief Bio

    Bernard studied Experimental and Mathematcal Physics at University College, Dublin. After a two-year break as a financial mathematician, he attended graduate school in Penn State University, studying numerical relativity under Dr Pablo Laguna (now in Georgia Tech), graduating with a Ph.D. in 2004.

    From 2004 to 2006, Bernard was a postdoctoral scholar in the University of Texas, Brownsville, working with Manuela Campanelli, Carlos Lousto, and Yosef Zlochower (now at the Rochester Institiute of Technology). Bernard's research centered on the Lazarus Project, an effort to extend then-short-lived black-hole-binary merger simulations by mapping their later stages to a more stable perturbative code.

    In late 2006, Bernard came to NASA Goddard as an NPP with the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, working with Joan Centrella, John Baker, and the numerical relativity group there. He continues to work at GSFC, as a CRESST Assistant Research Scientist affiliated with the Physics Department of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

    Publications

    Refereed

    Werneck, L. R., Z. B. Etienne, A. Murguia-Berthier, et al. R. Haas, F. Cipolletta, S. C. Noble, L. Ennoggi, F. G. Lopez Armengol, B. Giacomazzo, T. Assumpção, J. Faber, T. Gupte, B. J. Kelly, and J. H. Krolik. 2023. "Addition of tabulated equation of state and neutrino leakage support to illinoisgrmhd." Physical Review D 107 (4): 044037 [10.1103/physrevd.107.044037]

    Lopez Armengol, F. G., Z. B. Etienne, S. C. Noble, et al. B. J. Kelly, L. R. Werneck, B. Drachler, M. Campanelli, F. Cipolletta, Y. Zlochower, A. Murguia-Berthier, L. Ennoggi, M. Avara, R. Ciolfi, J. Faber, G. Fiacco, B. Giacomazzo, T. Gupte, T. Ha, J. H. Krolik, V. Mewes, R. O’Shaughnessy, J. M. Rueda-Becerril, and J. Schnittman. 2022. "Handing off the outcome of binary neutron star mergers for accurate and long-term postmerger simulations." Physical Review D 106 (8): 083015 [10.1103/physrevd.106.083015]

    Murguia-Berthier, A., S. C. Noble, L. F. Roberts, et al. E. Ramirez-Ruiz, L. R. Werneck, M. Kolacki, Z. B. Etienne, M. Avara, M. Campanelli, R. Ciolfi, F. Cipolletta, B. Drachler, L. Ennoggi, J. Faber, G. Fiacco, B. Giacomazzo, T. Gupte, T. Ha, B. J. Kelly, J. H. Krolik, F. G. Lopez Armengol, B. Margalit, T. Moon, J. D. Schnittman, R. O'Shaughnessy, J. M. Rueda-Becerril, Y. Zenati, and Y. Zlochower. 2021. "HARM3D+NUC: A new method for simulating the post-merger phase of binary neutron star mergers with GRMHD, tabulated EOS and neutrino leakage." Astrophysical Journal 919 (2): 95-110 [10.3847/1538-4357/ac1119]

    Kelly, B. J., Z. B. Etienne, J. Golomb, et al. J. D. Schnittman, J. G. Baker, S. C. Noble, and G. Ryan. 2021. "Electromagnetic emission from a binary black hole merger remnant in plasma: Field alignment and plasma temperature." Physical Review D 103 (6): 063039 [10.1103/physrevd.103.063039]

    Porth, O., K. Chatterjee, R. Narayan, et al. C. F. Gammie, Y. Mizuno, P. Anninos, J. G. Baker, M. Bugli, C.-K. Chan, J. Davelaar, L. D. Zanna, Z. B. Etienne, P. C. Fragile, B. J. Kelly, M. Liska, S. Markoff, J. C. McKinney, B. Mishra, S. C. Noble, H. Olivares, B. Prather, L. Rezzolla, B. R. Ryan, J. M. Stone, N. Tomei, C. J. White, Z. Younsi, K. Akiyama, A. Alberdi, W. Alef, K. Asada, R. Azulay, A.-K. Baczko, D. Ball, M. Baloković, J. Barrett, D. Bintley, L. Blackburn, W. Boland, K. L. Bouman, G. C. Bower, M. Bremer, C. D. Brinkerink, R. Brissenden, S. Britzen, A. E. Broderick, D. Broguiere, T. Bronzwaer, D.-Y. Byun, J. E. Carlstrom, A. Chael, S. Chatterjee, M.-T. Chen, Y. Chen, I. Cho, P. Christian, J. E. Conway, J. M. Cordes, G. B. Crew, Y. Cui, M. De Laurentis, R. Deane, J. Dempsey, G. Desvignes, S. S. Doeleman, R. P. Eatough, H. Falcke, V. L. Fish, E. Fomalont, R. Fraga-Encinas, B. Freeman, P. Friberg, C. M. Fromm, J. L. Gómez, P. Galison, R. García, O. Gentaz, B. Georgiev, C. Goddi, R. Gold, M. Gu, M. Gurwell, K. Hada, M. H. Hecht, R. Hesper, L. C. Ho, P. Ho, M. Honma, C.-W. L. Huang, L. Huang, D. H. Hughes, S. Ikeda, M. Inoue, S. Issaoun, D. J. James, B. T. Jannuzi, M. Janssen, B. Jeter, W. Jiang, M. D. Johnson, S. Jorstad, T. Jung, M. Karami, R. Karuppusamy, T. Kawashima, G. K. Keating, M. Kettenis, J.-Y. Kim, J. Kim, J. Kim, M. Kino, J. Y. Koay, P. M. Koch, S. Koyama, M. Kramer, C. Kramer, T. P. Krichbaum, C.-Y. Kuo, T. R. Lauer, S.-S. Lee, Y.-R. Li, Z. Li, M. Lindqvist, K. Liu, E. Liuzzo, W.-P. Lo, A. P. Lobanov, L. Loinard, C. Lonsdale, R.-S. Lu, N. R. MacDonald, J. Mao, D. P. Marrone, A. P. Marscher, I. Martí-Vidal, S. Matsushita, L. D. Matthews, L. Medeiros, K. M. Menten, I. Mizuno, J. M. Moran, K. Moriyama, M. Moscibrodzka, C. Müller, H. Nagai, N. M. Nagar, M. Nakamura, G. Narayanan, I. Natarajan, R. Neri, C. Ni, A. Noutsos, H. Okino, T. Oyama, F. Özel, D. C. Palumbo, N. Patel, U.-L. Pen, D. W. Pesce, V. Piétu, R. Plambeck, A. PopStefanija, J. A. Preciado-López, D. Psaltis, H.-Y. Pu, V. Ramakrishnan, R. Rao, M. G. Rawlings, A. W. Raymond, B. Ripperda, F. Roelofs, A. Rogers, E. Ros, M. Rose, A. Roshanineshat, H. Rottmann, A. L. Roy, C. Ruszczyk, K. L. Rygl, S. Sánchez, D. Sánchez-Arguelles, M. Sasada, T. Savolainen, F. P. Schloerb, K.-F. Schuster, L. Shao, Z. Shen, D. Small, B. W. Sohn, J. SooHoo, F. Tazaki, P. Tiede, R. P. Tilanus, M. Titus, K. Toma, P. Torne, T. Trent, S. Trippe, S. Tsuda, I. V. Bemmel, H. J. van Langevelde, D. R. van Rossum, J. Wagner, J. Wardle, J. Weintroub, N. Wex, R. Wharton, M. Wielgus, G. N. Wong, Q. Wu, K. Young, A. Young, F. Yuan, Y.-F. Yuan, J. A. Zensus, G. Zhao, S.-S. Zhao, Z. Zhu, and The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration. 2019. "The Event Horizon General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Code Comparison Project." The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 243 (2): 26 [10.3847/1538-4365/ab29fd]

    Schnittman, J. D., T. Dal Canton, J. Camp, D. Tsang, and B. J. Kelly. 2018. "Electromagnetic Chirps from Neutron Star-Black Hole Mergers." The Astrophysical Journal 853 123 [10.3847/1538-4357/aaa08b]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, Z. B. Etienne, B. Giacomazzo, and J. D. Schnittman. 2017. "Prompt electromagnetic transients from binary black hole mergers ." Physical Review D 96 123003 [10.1103/PhysRevD.96.123003]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, Z. B. Etienne, B. Giacomazzo, and J. Schnittman. 2017. "Prompt Electromagnetic Transients from Binary Black Hole Mergers." Physical Review D 96 123003

    Etienne, Z. B., J. G. Baker, V. Paschalidis, B. J. Kelly, and S. L. Shapiro. 2014. "Improved moving puncture gauge conditions for compact binary evolutions." Physical Review D 90 064032 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.90.064032]

    Littenberg, T. B., J. G. Baker, A. Buonanno, and B. J. Kelly. 2013. "Systematic biases in parameter estimation of binary black-hole mergers." Physical Review D 87 104003 [10.1103/PhysRevD.87.104003]

    Kelly, B. J., and J. G. Baker. 2013. "Decoding mode mixing in black-hole merger ringdown." Physical Review D 87 084004 [10.1103/PhysRevD.87.084004]

    Kelly, B. J., J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, S. T. McWilliams, and J. M. Centrella. 2011. "Mergers of black-hole binaries with aligned spins: Waveform characteristics." Physical Review D 84 084009 [10.1103/PhysRevD.84.084009]

    Mundim, B. C., B. J. Kelly, H. Nakano, Y. Zlochower, and M. Campanelli. 2011. "Hybrid black-hole binary initial data." Classical and Quantum Gravity 28 134003 [doi:10.1088/0264-9381/28/13/134003]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2011. "Merging Black Holes." Contemporary Physics 52 1 [10.1080/00107514.2010.520908]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2010. "The final merger of black-hole binaries." Annual Reviews of Nuclear and Particle Science 60 75 [10.1146/annurev.nucl.010909.083246]

    Kelly, B. J., W. Tichy, Y. Zlochower, M. Campanelli, and B. F. Whiting. 2010. "Post-Newtonian Initial Data with Waves: Progress in Evolution." Classical and Quantum Gravity 27 114005 [doi:10.1088/0264-9381/27/11/114005]

    McWilliams, S. T., (. I. Thorpe, J. G. Baker, and B. J. Kelly. 2010. "Impact of mergers on LISA parameter estimation for nonspinning black hole binaries." Physical Review D 81 064014 [10.1103/PhysRevD.81.064014]

    Centrella, J. M., J. G. Baker, B. J. Kelly, and J. R. Van Meter. 2010. "Black-hole binaries, gravitational waves, and numerical relativity." Reviews of Modern Physics 82 3069-3119 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/RevModPhys.82.3069]

    van Meter, J. R., M. C. Miller, J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, and B. J. Kelly. 2010. "Test of a General Formula for Black Hole Gravitational Wave Kicks." The Astrophysical Journal 719 1427 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0004-637X/719/2/1427]

    McWilliams, S. T., B. J. Kelly, and J. G. Baker. 2010. "Observing mergers of nonspinning black-hole binaries." Physical Review D 82 024014 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.82.024014]

    van Meter, J. R., J. H. Wise, M. C. Miller, et al. C. S. Reynolds, J. Centrella, J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, B. J. Kelly, and S. T. McWilliams. 2010. "Modeling Flows around Merging Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 711 L89 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/2041-8205/711/2/L89]

    Thorpe, J. I., S. T. McWilliams, B. J. Kelly, et al. R. P. Fahey, K. A. Arnaud, and J. G. Baker. 2009. "LISA parameter estimation using numerical merger waveforms." Classical and Quantum Gravity 26 094026 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/9/094026]

    Hannam, M., S. Husa, J. G. Baker, et al. M. Boyle, B. Brügmann, T. Chu, N. Dorband, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, B. J. Kelly, L. E. Kidder, P. Laguna, K. D. Matthews, J. R. Van Meter, H. P. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, C. Reisswig, M. A. Scheel, and D. Shoemaker. 2009. "Samurai project: Verifying the consistency of black-hole-binary waveforms for gravitational-wave detection." Physical Review D 79 084025 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.79.084025]

    Cadonati, L., B. Aylott, J. G. Baker, et al. W. D. Boggs, M. Boyle, P. R. Brady, D. A. Brown, B. Brügmann, L. T. Buchman, A. Buonanno, J. Camp, M. Campanelli, J. Centrella, S. Chatterji, N. Christensen, T. Chu, P. Diener, N. Dorband, Z. B. Etienne, J. Faber, S. Fairhurst, B. Farr, S. Fischetti, G. Guidi, L. M. Goggin, M. Hannam, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, S. Husa, V. Kalogera, D. Keppel, L. E. Kidder, B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, P. Laguna, C. O. Lousto, I. Mandel, P. Marronetti, R. Matzner, S. T. McWilliams, K. D. Matthews, R. A. Mercer, S. R. Mohapatra, A. H. Mroué, H. Nakano, E. Ochsner, Y. Pan, L. Pekowsky, H. P. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, F. Pretorius, V. Raymond, C. Reisswig, L. Rezzolla, O. Rinne, C. Robinson, C. Röver, L. Santamaría, B. Sathyaprakash, M. A. Scheel, E. Schnetter, J. Seiler, S. L. Shapiro, D. Shoemaker, U. Sperhake, A. Stroeer, R. Sturani, W. Tichy, Y. T. Liu, M. van der Sluys, J. R. van Meter, R. Vaulin, A. Vecchio, J. Veitch, A. Viceré, J. T. Whelan, and Y. Zlochower. 2009. "Status of NINJA: the Numerical INJection Analysis project." Classical and Quantum Gravity 26 4008 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/11/114008]

    Aylott, B., J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, et al. M. Boyle, P. R. Brady, D. A. Brown, B. Brügmann, L. T. Buchman, A. Buonanno, L. Cadonati, J. Camp, M. Campanelli, J. Centrella, S. Chatterji, N. Christensen, T. Chu, P. Diener, N. Dorband, Z. B. Etienne, J. Faber, S. Fairhurst, B. Farr, S. Fischetti, G. Guidi, L. M. Goggin, M. Hannam, F. Herrmann, I. Hinder, S. Husa, V. Kalogera, D. Keppel, L. E. Kidder, B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, P. Laguna, C. O. Lousto, I. Mandel, P. Marronetti, R. Matzner, S. T. McWilliams, K. D. Matthews, R. A. Mercer, S. R. Mohapatra, A. H. Mroué, H. Nakano, E. Ochsner, Y. Pan, L. Pekowsky, H. A. Pfeiffer, D. Pollney, F. Pretorius, V. Raymond, C. Reisswig, L. Rezzolla, O. Rinne, C. Robinson, C. Röver, L. Santamaría, B. Sathyaprakash, M. A. Scheel, E. Schnetter, J. Seiler, S. L. Shapiro, D. Shoemaker, U. Sperhake, A. Stroeer, R. Sturani, W. Tichy, Y. T. Liu, M. van der Sluys, J. R. van Meter, R. Vaulin, A. Vecchio, J. Veitch, A. Viceré, J. T. Whelan, and Y. Zlochower. 2009. "Testing gravitational-wave searches with numerical relativity waveforms: results from the first Numerical INJection Analysis (NINJA) project." Classical and Quantum Gravity 26 5008 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1088/0264-9381/26/16/165008]

    Schnittman, J. D., A. Buonanno, J. R. Van Meter, et al. J. G. Baker, W. D. Boggs, J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, and S. T. McWilliams. 2008. "Anatomy of the binary black hole recoil: A multipolar analysis." Physical Review D 77 044031 [10.1103/PhysRevD.77.044031]

    Pan, Y., A. Buonanno, J. G. Baker, et al. J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, F. Pretorius, and J. R. Van Meter. 2008. "Data-analysis driven comparison of analytic and numerical coalescing binary waveforms: Nonspinning case." Physical Review D 77 024014 [10.1103/PhysRevD.77.024014]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, M. C. Miller, and J. R. van Meter. 2008. "Modeling Kicks from the Merger of Generic Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal 682 L29 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1086/590927]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. M. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, and J. R. Van Meter. 2008. "Mergers of nonspinning black-hole binaries: Gravitational radiation characteristics." Physical Review D 78 044046 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.78.044046]

    Buonanno, A., Y. Pan, J. G. Baker, et al. J. M. Centrella, B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Approaching faithful templates for non-spinning binary black holes using the effective-one-body approach." Physical Review D 76 104049 [10.1103/PhysRevD.76.104049]

    Baker, J. G., J. R. Van Meter, S. T. McWilliams, J. M. Centrella, and B. J. Kelly. 2007. "Consistency of post-Newtonian waveforms with numerical relativity." Physical Review Letters 99 181101 [10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.181101]

    Kelly, B. J., W. Tichy, M. Campanelli, and B. F. Whiting. 2007. "Black hole puncture initial data with realistic gravitational wave content." Physical Review D 76 024008 [ 10.1103/PhysRevD.76.024008]

    Choi, D.-I., B. J. Kelly, W. D. Boggs, et al. J. G. Baker, J. M. Centrella, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Recoiling from a kick in the head-on collision of spinning black holes." Physical Review D 76 104026 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.76.104026]

    Baker, J. G., S. T. McWilliams, J. R. Van Meter, et al. J. M. Centrella, D.-I. Choi, B. J. Kelly, and M. Koppitz. 2007. "Binary black hole late inspiral: Simulations for gravitational wave observations." Physical Review D 75 124024 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1103/PhysRevD.75.124024]

    Baker, J. G., W. D. Boggs, J. Centrella, et al. B. J. Kelly, S. T. McWilliams, M. C. Miller, and J. R. Van Meter. 2007. "Modeling Kicks from the Merger of Nonprecessing Black Hole Binaries." The Astrophysical Journal 668 1140 [Full Text (Link)] [10.1086/521330]

    Campanelli, M., B. J. Kelly, and C. O. Lousto. 2006. "The Lazarus Project. II. Spacelike extraction with the quasi-Kinnersley tetrad." Physical Review D 73 064005 [10.1103/PhysRevD.73.064005]

    Sperhake, U., B. J. Kelly, P. Laguna, K. L. Smith, and E. Schnetter. 2005. "Black hole head-on collisions and gravitational waves with fixed mesh-refinement and dynamic singularity excision." Physical Review D 71 124042 [10.1103/PhysRevD.71.124042]

    Sperhake, U., K. L. Smith, B. J. Kelly, P. Laguna, and D. M. Shoemaker. 2004. "Impact of densitized lapse slicings on evolutions of a wobbling black hole." Physical Review D 69 024012 [10.1103/PhysRevD.69.024012]

    Dreyer, O., B. J. Kelly, B. Krishnan, et al. L. S. Finn, D. Garrison, and R. Lopez-Aleman. 2004. "Black-hole spectroscopy: testing general relativity through gravitational-wave observations." Classical and Quantum Gravity 21 787 [10.1088/0264-9381/21/4/003]

    Kelly, B. J., P. Laguna, K. Lockitch, et al. J. Pullin, E. Schnetter, D. M. Shoemaker, and M. Tiglio. 2001. "Cure for unstable numerical evolutions of single black holes: Adjusting the standard ADM equations in the spherically symmetric case." Physical Review D 64 084013 [10.1103/PhysRevD.64.084013]

                                                                                                                                                                                            
    NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    • NASA Official:
    • Curator:
    • Last Updated: 09/25/2023