The year 2025 offers a fitting moment to reflect on the development of one of the most profound problems in general relativity: the relativistic two-body problem. Just over fifty years ago, the discovery of the Hulse–Taylor pulsar provided the first observational evidence for gravitational radiation from binary systems. Since then, key contributions have marked decisive steps forward, leading to the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015 by the LIGO-VIRGO collaboration. As we commemorate ten years since that historic achievement, this progression of achievements not only traces a remarkable trajectory of scientific progress but also underscores the crucial interplay between analytical, numerical, and experimental communities in advancing our understanding of the two-body problem and its foundational role in gravitational-wave astronomy.
Against this backdrop, the Balzan Workshop In Pursuit of Gravitational Waves: Solving the Two-Body Problem in General Relativity, to be held from October 20 to 22, 2025, will bring together a select group of researchers who have played a central role in this history, alongside historians and philosophers of physics. The workshop offers an opportunity not only to revisit landmark developments, but also to reflect on the evolving methods, collaborations, and conceptual challenges that have shaped this remarkable scientific journey.
Hosted by the “Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity” division at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Potsdam, Germany, the Workshop is part of the Balzan Prize Project. This project investigates the historical and philosophical dimensions of solving the two-body problem in general relativity, with particular emphasis on the development of both analytical and numerical approaches, as well as the synergy—and at times, the dissonance—between these methods. The event will feature twelve talks that are historical, philosophical, and forward-looking in scope, along with three panel discussions centered on key themes:
• Why Did Progress in Analytical Relativity Differ in Europe Compared to the US, and More Generally Among Countries?
• Why Did the Progress in Numerical Relativity Differ in Europe Compared to the US, and More Generally Among Countries?
• Appreciation, Competition, and Synergism Between Analytical and Numerical Relativity Approaches
Contributions from experimentalists are also included, highlighting how theoretical modeling has both informed and responded to observational work.
The workshop is by invitation only. Each talk will be complemented by ample time for discussion, encouraging open and engaging exchanges across disciplinary boundaries.
Scientific organizing committee
Alexander Blum, Alessandra Buonanno, Félix-Louis Julié, Dennis Lehmkuhl, Jean-Philippe Martinez, Harald Pfeiffer, Christian Röken, and Jan Steinhoff.
Local organizing committee
Alessandra Buonanno, Félix-Louis Julié, Jean-Philippe Martinez, Harald Pfeiffer, and Jan Steinhoff.
Illustration and design
Ana Carvalho
Web development
Marco Gajardo
Administrative support
Brit Holland, Elke Müller