About

Katelyn Breivik is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on astrophysics and cosmology. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. from Northwestern University in 2018 and 2014, respectively, and her B.S. from Utah State University in 2012. Her research centers on binary stars, which are a crucial component in various fields of astrophysics, including compact object formation, exoplanet characterization, galaxy formation, and cosmology. She works at the interface of theory, simulations, and data to understand how binary-star interactions influence stellar populations throughout their evolution. Breivik spends significant time developing software tools to simulate binary star populations and their observable properties in electromagnetic and gravitational-wave surveys. She combines simulations with data from surveys like Gaia and SDSS-V, as well as gravitational wave observatories such as LIGO and LISA, to study binary star populations at different evolutionary stages and constrain the outcomes of binary interactions. Her commitment to reproducibility in science is reflected in her use of open-source tools and workflows, including COSMIC and LEGWORK, and her advocacy for accessible scientific results.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Physics
• Astronomy
• Data science
• Data Mining
• Computer Security
• Astrophysics
• Theoretical physics
• Geography
• Cartography
• Systems engineering
• Database

Selected publications

• Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

  Living Reviews in Relativity · 2023 · 562 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Physics
  • Astronomy

  The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be a transformative experiment for gravitational wave astronomy, and, as such, it will offer unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a completely novel way. The synergy with ground-based and space-born instruments in the electromagnetic domain, by enabling multi-messenger observations, will add further to the discovery potential of LISA. The next decade is crucial to prepare the astrophysical community for LISA's first observations. This review outlines the extensive landscape of astrophysical theory, numerical simulations, and astronomical observations that are instrumental for modeling and interpreting the upcoming LISA datastream. To this aim, the current knowledge in three main source classes for LISA is reviewed; ultra-compact stellar-mass binaries, massive black hole binaries, and extreme or interme-diate mass ratio inspirals. The relevant astrophysical processes and the established modeling techniques are summarized. Likewise, open issues and gaps in our understanding of these sources are highlighted, along with an indication of how LISA could help making progress in the different areas. New research avenues that LISA itself, or its joint exploitation with upcoming studies in the electromagnetic domain, will enable, are also illustrated. Improvements in modeling and analysis approaches, such as the combination of numerical simulations and modern data science techniques, are discussed. This review is intended to be a starting point for using LISA as a new discovery tool for understanding our Universe.

  DOI

• From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2022 · 3 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Data science

  The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) dataset will dramatically alter our understanding of the Universe, from the origins of the Solar System to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Much of this research will depend on the existence of robust, tested, and scalable algorithms, software, and services. Identifying and developing such tools ahead of time has the potential to significantly accelerate the delivery of early science from LSST. Developing these collaboratively, and making them broadly available, can enable more inclusive and equitable collaboration on LSST science. To facilitate such opportunities, a community workshop entitled "From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST" was organized by the LSST Interdisciplinary Network for Collaboration and Computing (LINCC) and partners, and held at the Flatiron Institute in New York, March 28-30th 2022. The workshop included over 50 in-person attendees invited from over 300 applications. It identified seven key software areas of need: (i) scalable cross-matching and distributed joining of catalogs, (ii) robust photometric redshift determination, (iii) software for determination of selection functions, (iv) frameworks for scalable time-series analyses, (v) services for image access and reprocessing at scale, (vi) object image access (cutouts) and analysis at scale, and (vii) scalable job execution systems. This white paper summarizes the discussions of this workshop. It considers the motivating science use cases, identified cross-cutting algorithms, software, and services, their high-level technical specifications, and the principles of inclusive collaborations needed to develop them. We provide it as a useful roadmap of needs, as well as to spur action and collaboration between groups and individuals looking to develop reusable software for early LSST science.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The missing link in gravitational-wave astronomy: discoveries waiting in the decihertz range

  Classical and Quantum Gravity · 2020 · 135 citations

  • Physics
  • Astronomy
  • Astrophysics

  The gravitational-wave astronomical revolution began in 2015 with LIGO's observation of the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. Over the coming decades, ground-based detectors like LIGO will extend their reach, discovering thousands of stellar-mass binaries. In the 2030s, the space-based LISA will enable gravitational-wave observations of the massive black holes in galactic centres. Between LISA and ground-based observatories lies the unexplored decihertz gravitational-wave frequency band. Here, we propose a Decihertz Observatory to cover this band, and complement observations made by other gravitational-wave observatories. The decihertz band is uniquely suited to observation of intermediate-mass ($\\sim 10^2-10^4$ M$_\\odot$) black holes, which may form the missing link between stellar-mass and massive black holes, offering a unique opportunity to measure their properties. Decihertz observations will be able to detect stellar-mass binaries days to years before they merge and are observed by ground-based detectors, providing early warning of nearby binary neutron star mergers, and enabling measurements of the eccentricity of binary black holes, providing revealing insights into their formation. Observing decihertz gravitational-waves also opens the possibility of testing fundamental physics in a new laboratory, permitting unique tests of general relativity and the Standard Model of particle physics. Overall, a Decihertz Observatory will answer key questions about how black holes form and evolve across cosmic time, open new avenues for multimessenger astronomy, and advance our understanding of gravitation, particle physics and cosmology.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jeff J. Andrews

  45 shared

• Robyn E. Sanderson

  38 shared

• Shane L. Larson

  Northwestern University

  38 shared

• Sourav Chatterjee

  32 shared

• C. P. L. Berry

  University of Glasgow

  31 shared

• Pau Amaro‐Seoane

  Universitat Politècnica de València

  29 shared

• Chiara Caprini

  28 shared

• Carl L. Rodriguez

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  27 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  Northwestern University

  2018

• M.S.

  Northwestern University

  2014

• B.S.

  Utah State University

  2012

Similar researchers at Carnegie Mellon University

• Dr. Heather Millerh-158
• Christos Nick Faloutsosh-137
• Rongchao Jinh-128
• Ignacio Grossmannh-117
• Neil Donahueh-116