Christopher Stubbs

About

Christopher Stubbs is the Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy at Harvard University. He is an experimental physicist working at the interface between particle physics, cosmology, and gravitation. His research interests include experimental tests of the foundations of gravitational physics, searches for dark matter, characterizing dark energy, and observational cosmology. Stubbs was a member of one of the two teams that first discovered dark energy by using supernovae to map out the history of cosmic expansion. He is heavily engaged in the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), for which he served as the inaugural project scientist. Additionally, he founded the APOLLO collaboration, which uses lunar laser ranging and the Earth-Moon-Sun system to probe for novel gravitational effects that may result from physics beyond the standard model. His work involves experimental efforts to understand fundamental aspects of the universe, contributing significantly to the fields of astrophysics and cosmology.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Physics
• Astronomy
• Remote sensing
• Geology
• Astrophysics
• Mathematical physics
• Computer graphics (images)
• Environmental science
• Geodesy

Selected publications

• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

  2017 · 1398 citations

  On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg² at a luminosity distance of 40₋₈⁺⁸ Mpc a…

  DOI

• The Pantheon+ Analysis: Cosmological Constraints

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2022 · 1182 citations

  Abstract We present constraints on cosmological parameters from the Pantheon+ analysis of 1701 light curves of 1550 distinct Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) ranging in redshift from z = 0.001 to 2.26. This work features an increased sample size from the addition of multiple cross-calibrated photometric systems of SNe covering an increased redshift span, and improved treatments of systematic uncertainties in comparison to the original Pantheon analysis, which together result in a factor of 2 improvem…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pan-STARRS Photometric and Astrometric Calibration

  The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · 2020 · 312 citations

  Abstract We present the details of the photometric and astrometric calibration of the Pan-STARRS1 3 π Survey. The photometric goals were to reduce the systematic effects introduced by the camera and detectors, and to place all of the observations onto a photometric system with consistent zero-points over the entire area surveyed, the ≈30,000 deg 2 north of δ = −30°. Using external comparisons, we demonstrate that the resulting photometric system is consistent across the sky to between 7 and 12.4…

  DOI

• The LSST DESC DC2 Simulated Sky Survey

  The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · 2021 · 71 citations

  We describe the simulated sky survey underlying the second data challenge (DC2) carried out in preparation for analysis of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (LSST DESC). Significant connections across multiple science domains will be a hallmark of LSST; the DC2 program represents a unique modeling effort that stresses this interconnectivity in a way that has not been attempted before. This effort encompasses a full…

  DOI

• GW190425: Pan-STARRS and ATLAS coverage of the skymap and limits on optical emission associated with FRB 20190425A

  Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · 2024-01-12 · 19 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT GW190425 is the second of two binary neutron star (BNS) merger events to be significantly detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave (GW) Observatory (LIGO), Virgo and the Kamioka Gravitational Wave (KAGRA) detector network. With a detection only in LIGO Livingston, the skymap containing the source was large and no plausible electromagnetic counterpart was found in real-time searching in 2019. Here, we summarize Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and Pano…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Coordinated Surveys to Study the Nature of the Dark Energy.

  NSF · $35k · 2005–2010

• Probing the Equation of State of the Dark Energy with Supernovae.

  NSF · $1.9M · 2005–2010

• Collaborative Research: Optical Confirmation, Redshifts, and Richness for Galaxy Clusters Discovered with the South Pole Telescope

  NSF · $998k · 2010–2015

Frequent coauthors

• K. Griest

  Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

  515 shared

• M. R. Pratt

  University of Utah

  420 shared

• C. Alcock

  Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

  396 shared

• K. C. Freeman

  North Carolina Central University

  368 shared

• B. A. Peterson

  Mount Stromlo Observatory

  360 shared

• K. H. Cook

  Southern Illinois University Carbondale

  331 shared

• M. J. Lehner

  326 shared

• D. P. Bennett

  324 shared

Similar researchers at Harvard University

• Ramesh Narayanh-141
• David Charbonneauh-112
• Robert P. Kirshnerh-112