Stefano Foffa
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Previous Organizations / Institutes
The organizations / institutes from the scholar's other articles in the past ten years
Research Subjects
Stefano Foffa has a total of 583 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Riccardo Sturani
UNESP—Universidade Estadual Paulista
25 shared publications - Michele Maggiore
Département de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 24 quai Ernest Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
18 shared publications - Francesco Iacovelli
Johns Hopkins University
11 shared publications - Gabriel Luz Almeida
University of Science and Technology of China
11 shared publications - Michele Mancarella
Aix-Marseille Universite
11 shared publications - Enis Belgacem
Département de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 24 quai Ernest Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
8 shared publications
Latest Publications
- 14 September 2026
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 114 (6) , 064057
Angular momentum tail contributions to compact binary dynamics
We derive the effective action governing the dynamics of a compact binary system when gravitational radiation is emitted by any mass or current multipole, scattered by the quasistatic field associated with the binary's angular momentum, and then reabsorbed. Among such angular momentum failed-tail processes, the ones involving multipole moments up to mass and current octupoles, which mix also with quadrupoles of opposite parity, contribute to the system dynamics at sixth post-Newtonian order; we display these terms explicitly as a particular case of our general derivation. Additionally, we derive the radiative multipole moments associated to arbitrary angular momentum failed tails in emission processes.
- 14 September 2026
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 114 (6) , 064057
Angular momentum tail contributions to compact binary dynamics
We derive the effective action governing the dynamics of a compact binary system when gravitational radiation is emitted by any mass or current multipole, scattered by the quasistatic field associated with the binary's angular momentum, and then reabsorbed. Among such angular momentum failed-tail processes, the ones involving multipole moments up to mass and current octupoles, which mix also with quadrupoles of opposite parity, contribute to the system dynamics at sixth post-Newtonian order; we display these terms explicitly as a particular case of our general derivation. Additionally, we derive the radiative multipole moments associated to arbitrary angular momentum failed tails in emission processes.
- 28 April 2026
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 113 (8)
Erratum: Conservative binary dynamics from gravitational tail emission processes [Phys. Rev. D 108 , 124010 (2023)]
- 28 April 2026
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 113 (8)
Erratum: Conservative binary dynamics from gravitational tail emission processes [Phys. Rev. D 108 , 124010 (2023)]
- Open Access
- 1 March 2026
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Vol. 2026 (03)
The Science of the Einstein Telescope
Einstein Telescope (ET) is the European project for a gravitational-wave (GW) observatory of third-generation. In this paper we present a comprehensive discussion of its science objectives, providing state-of-the-art predictions for the capabilities of ET in both geometries currently under consideration, a single-site triangular configuration or two L-shaped detectors. We discuss the impact that ET will have on domains as broad and diverse as fundamental physics, cosmology, early Universe, astrophysics of compact objects, physics of matter in extreme conditions, and dynamics of stellar collapse. We discuss how the study of extreme astrophysical events will be enhanced by multi-messenger observations. We highlight the ET synergies with ground-based and space-borne GW observatories, including multi-band investigations of the same sources, improved parameter estimation, and complementary information on astrophysical or cosmological mechanisms obtained combining observations from different frequency bands. We present advancements in waveform modeling dedicated to third-generation observatories, along with open tools developed within the ET Collaboration for assessing the scientific potentials of different detector configurations. We finally discuss the data analysis challenges posed by third-generation observatories, which will enable access to large populations of sources and provide unprecedented precision.
- 1 March 2026
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Vol. 2026 (03)
Open AccessThe Science of the Einstein Telescope
Einstein Telescope (ET) is the European project for a gravitational-wave (GW) observatory of third-generation. In this paper we present a comprehensive discussion of its science objectives, providing state-of-the-art predictions for the capabilities of ET in both geometries currently under consideration, a single-site triangular configuration or two L-shaped detectors. We discuss the impact that ET will have on domains as broad and diverse as fundamental physics, cosmology, early Universe, astrophysics of compact objects, physics of matter in extreme conditions, and dynamics of stellar collapse. We discuss how the study of extreme astrophysical events will be enhanced by multi-messenger observations. We highlight the ET synergies with ground-based and space-borne GW observatories, including multi-band investigations of the same sources, improved parameter estimation, and complementary information on astrophysical or cosmological mechanisms obtained combining observations from different frequency bands. We present advancements in waveform modeling dedicated to third-generation observatories, along with open tools developed within the ET Collaboration for assessing the scientific potentials of different detector configurations. We finally discuss the data analysis challenges posed by third-generation observatories, which will enable access to large populations of sources and provide unprecedented precision.
- 29 October 2025
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 112 (8)
Gravitational memory contributions to waveform and effective action
- 29 October 2025
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 112 (8)
Gravitational memory contributions to waveform and effective action
- Top Cited PapersOpen Access
- 1 January 2025
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Vol. 2025 (01)
The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna: mission studies and science case
The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna (LGWA) is a proposed array of next-generation inertial sensors to monitor the response of the Moon to gravitational waves (GWs). Given the size of the Moon and the expected noise produced by the lunar seismic background, the LGWA would be able to observe GWs from about 1 mHz to 1 Hz. This would make the LGWA the missing link between space-borne detectors like LISA with peak sensitivities around a few millihertz and proposed future terrestrial detectors like Einstein Telescope or Cosmic Explorer. In this article, we provide a first comprehensive analysis of the LGWA science case including its multi-messenger aspects and lunar science with LGWA data. We also describe the scientific analyses of the Moon required to plan the LGWA mission.
- 1 January 2025
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Vol. 2025 (01)
Top Cited PapersOpen AccessThe Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna: mission studies and science case
The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna (LGWA) is a proposed array of next-generation inertial sensors to monitor the response of the Moon to gravitational waves (GWs). Given the size of the Moon and the expected noise produced by the lunar seismic background, the LGWA would be able to observe GWs from about 1 mHz to 1 Hz. This would make the LGWA the missing link between space-borne detectors like LISA with peak sensitivities around a few millihertz and proposed future terrestrial detectors like Einstein Telescope or Cosmic Explorer. In this article, we provide a first comprehensive analysis of the LGWA science case including its multi-messenger aspects and lunar science with LGWA data. We also describe the scientific analyses of the Moon required to plan the LGWA mission.
- 26 December 2024
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 133 (26) , 261001
Accurate Standard Siren Cosmology with Joint Gravitational-Wave and -Ray Burst ObservationsJoint gravitational-wave and γ-ray burst (GRB) observations are among the best prospects for standard siren cosmology. However, the strong selection effect for the coincident GRB detection, which is possible only for sources with small inclination angles, induces a systematic uncertainty that is currently not accounted for. We show that this severe source of bias can be removed by inferring the a priori unknown electromagnetic detection probability directly from multimessenger data. This leads at the same time to an unbiased measurement of the Hubble constant, to constrain the properties of GRB emission, and to accurately measure the viewing angle of each source. Our inference scheme is applicable to real data already in the small-statistics regime, a scenario that might become reality in the near future. Additionally, we introduce a novel likelihood approximant for gravitational-wave events which treats the dependence on distance and inclination as exact.
- 26 December 2024
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 133 (26) , 261001
Accurate Standard Siren Cosmology with Joint Gravitational-Wave and -Ray Burst ObservationsJoint gravitational-wave and γ-ray burst (GRB) observations are among the best prospects for standard siren cosmology. However, the strong selection effect for the coincident GRB detection, which is possible only for sources with small inclination angles, induces a systematic uncertainty that is currently not accounted for. We show that this severe source of bias can be removed by inferring the a priori unknown electromagnetic detection probability directly from multimessenger data. This leads at the same time to an unbiased measurement of the Hubble constant, to constrain the properties of GRB emission, and to accurately measure the viewing angle of each source. Our inference scheme is applicable to real data already in the small-statistics regime, a scenario that might become reality in the near future. Additionally, we introduce a novel likelihood approximant for gravitational-wave events which treats the dependence on distance and inclination as exact.
- 5 December 2023
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 108 (12) , 124010
Conservative binary dynamics from gravitational tail emission processes
We reanalyze the far zone contribution to the two-body conservative dynamics arising from interaction between radiative and longitudinal modes, the latter sourced by mass and angular momentum, which in the mass case is known as tail process. We verify the expected correspondence between two loop self-energy amplitudes and the gluing of two classical (one leading order, one at one loop) emission amplitudes, with focus on the Ward identities. As part of our analysis, we originally compute emission and self-energy processes with the longitudinal mode sourced by angular momentum for generic electric and magnetic multipoles and we highlight the role of the contribution from source interaction with two gravitational fields.
- 5 December 2023
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review D
- Vol. 108 (12) , 124010
Conservative binary dynamics from gravitational tail emission processes
We reanalyze the far zone contribution to the two-body conservative dynamics arising from interaction between radiative and longitudinal modes, the latter sourced by mass and angular momentum, which in the mass case is known as tail process. We verify the expected correspondence between two loop self-energy amplitudes and the gluing of two classical (one leading order, one at one loop) emission amplitudes, with focus on the Ward identities. As part of our analysis, we originally compute emission and self-energy processes with the longitudinal mode sourced by angular momentum for generic electric and magnetic multipoles and we highlight the role of the contribution from source interaction with two gravitational fields.
- Open Access
Combining chirp mass, luminosity distance and sky localisation from gravitational wave events to detect the cosmic dipole
A key test of the isotropy of the Universe on large scales consists in comparing the dipole in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature with the dipole in the distribution of sources at low redshift. Current analyses find a dipole in the number counts of quasars and radio sources that is 2-5 times larger than expected from the CMB, leading to a tension reaching 5$σ$. In this paper, we derive a consistent framework to measure the dipole independently from gravitational wave (GW) detections. We exploit the fact that the observer velocity does not only change the distribution of events in the sky, but also the luminosity distance and redshifted chirp mass, that can be extracted from the GW waveform. We show that the estimator with higher signal-to-noise ratio is the dipole in the chirp mass measured from a population of binary neutron stars. Combining all estimators (accounting for their covariance) improves the detectability of the dipole by 30-50 percent compared to number counting of binary black holes alone. We find that a few $10^6$ events are necessary to detect a dipole consistent with the CMB one, whereas if the dipole is as large as predicted by radio sources, it will already be detectable with $10^5$ events, which would correspond to a single year of observation with next generation GW detectors. GW sources provide therefore a robust and independent way of testing the isotropy of the Universe.Open AccessCombining chirp mass, luminosity distance and sky localisation from gravitational wave events to detect the cosmic dipole
A key test of the isotropy of the Universe on large scales consists in comparing the dipole in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature with the dipole in the distribution of sources at low redshift. Current analyses find a dipole in the number counts of quasars and radio sources that is 2-5 times larger than expected from the CMB, leading to a tension reaching 5$σ$. In this paper, we derive a consistent framework to measure the dipole independently from gravitational wave (GW) detections. We exploit the fact that the observer velocity does not only change the distribution of events in the sky, but also the luminosity distance and redshifted chirp mass, that can be extracted from the GW waveform. We show that the estimator with higher signal-to-noise ratio is the dipole in the chirp mass measured from a population of binary neutron stars. Combining all estimators (accounting for their covariance) improves the detectability of the dipole by 30-50 percent compared to number counting of binary black holes alone. We find that a few $10^6$ events are necessary to detect a dipole consistent with the CMB one, whereas if the dipole is as large as predicted by radio sources, it will already be detectable with $10^5$ events, which would correspond to a single year of observation with next generation GW detectors. GW sources provide therefore a robust and independent way of testing the isotropy of the Universe. - Open Access
Detection and estimation of the cosmic dipole with the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer
One of the open issues of the standard cosmological model is the value of the cosmic dipole measured from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as well as from the number count of quasars and radio sources. These measurements are currently in tension, with the number count dipole being 2-5 times larger than expected from CMB measurements. This discrepancy has been pointed out as a possible indication that the cosmological principle is not valid. In this paper, we explore the possibility of detecting and estimating the cosmic dipole with gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary mergers detected by the future next-generation detectors Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. We model the expected signal and show that for binary black holes, the dipole amplitude in the number count of detections is independent of the characteristics of the population and provides a systematic-free tool to estimate the observer velocity. We introduce techniques to detect the cosmic dipole from number counting of GW detections and estimate its significance. We show that a GW dipole consistent with the amplitude of the dipole in radio galaxies would be detectable with $>3\sigma$ significance with a few years of observation ($10^6$ GW detections) and estimated with a $16\%$ precision, while a GW dipole consistent with the CMB one would require at least $10^7$ GW events for a confident detection. We also demonstrate that a total number $N_{\rm tot}$ of GW detections would be able to detect a dipole with amplitude $v_o/c \simeq1/\sqrt{N_{\rm tot}}$.Open AccessDetection and estimation of the cosmic dipole with the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer
One of the open issues of the standard cosmological model is the value of the cosmic dipole measured from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as well as from the number count of quasars and radio sources. These measurements are currently in tension, with the number count dipole being 2-5 times larger than expected from CMB measurements. This discrepancy has been pointed out as a possible indication that the cosmological principle is not valid. In this paper, we explore the possibility of detecting and estimating the cosmic dipole with gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary mergers detected by the future next-generation detectors Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. We model the expected signal and show that for binary black holes, the dipole amplitude in the number count of detections is independent of the characteristics of the population and provides a systematic-free tool to estimate the observer velocity. We introduce techniques to detect the cosmic dipole from number counting of GW detections and estimate its significance. We show that a GW dipole consistent with the amplitude of the dipole in radio galaxies would be detectable with $>3\sigma$ significance with a few years of observation ($10^6$ GW detections) and estimated with a $16\%$ precision, while a GW dipole consistent with the CMB one would require at least $10^7$ GW events for a confident detection. We also demonstrate that a total number $N_{\rm tot}$ of GW detections would be able to detect a dipole with amplitude $v_o/c \simeq1/\sqrt{N_{\rm tot}}$. - 1 March 2023
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Vol. 521 (1) , 984-994
Detection and estimation of the cosmic dipole with the einstein telescope and cosmic explorer
One of the open issues of the standard cosmological model is the value of the cosmic dipole measured from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as well as from the number count of quasars and radio sources. These measurements are currently in tension, with the number count dipole being 2–5 times larger than expected from CMB measurements. This discrepancy has been pointed out as a possible indication that the cosmological principle is not valid. In this paper, we explore the possibility of detecting and estimating the cosmic dipole with gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary mergers detected by the future next-generation detectors Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. We model the expected signal and show that for binary black holes, the dipole amplitude in the number count of detections is independent of the characteristics of the population and provides a systematic-free tool to estimate the observer velocity. We introduce techniques to detect the cosmic dipole from number counting of GW detections and estimate its significance. We show that a GW dipole consistent with the amplitude of the dipole in radio galaxies would be detectable with >3σ significance with a few years of observation (106 GW detections) and estimated with a 16 per cent precision, while a GW dipole consistent with the CMB one would require at least 107 GW events for a confident detection. We also demonstrate that a total number Ntot of GW detections would be able to detect a dipole with amplitude |$v_o/c \simeq 1/\sqrt{N_{\rm tot}}$|.
- 1 March 2023
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Vol. 521 (1) , 984-994
Detection and estimation of the cosmic dipole with the einstein telescope and cosmic explorer
One of the open issues of the standard cosmological model is the value of the cosmic dipole measured from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), as well as from the number count of quasars and radio sources. These measurements are currently in tension, with the number count dipole being 2–5 times larger than expected from CMB measurements. This discrepancy has been pointed out as a possible indication that the cosmological principle is not valid. In this paper, we explore the possibility of detecting and estimating the cosmic dipole with gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary mergers detected by the future next-generation detectors Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. We model the expected signal and show that for binary black holes, the dipole amplitude in the number count of detections is independent of the characteristics of the population and provides a systematic-free tool to estimate the observer velocity. We introduce techniques to detect the cosmic dipole from number counting of GW detections and estimate its significance. We show that a GW dipole consistent with the amplitude of the dipole in radio galaxies would be detectable with >3σ significance with a few years of observation (106 GW detections) and estimated with a 16 per cent precision, while a GW dipole consistent with the CMB one would require at least 107 GW events for a confident detection. We also demonstrate that a total number Ntot of GW detections would be able to detect a dipole with amplitude |$v_o/c \simeq 1/\sqrt{N_{\rm tot}}$|.