The Washington University group, will extend its studies of the potentially observable consequences of the general theory of relativity, in experimental, astrophysical and cosmological contexts. The effects of gravitational emission and damping in binary systems of compact objects will be analyzed, as possible sources of detectable gravitational radiation and as potential tests of alternative theories of gravity. A study of the normal modes of oscillation of black holes will continue, with emphasis on high-overtone modes, and on modes of rotating black holes. The observable effects of light scalar fields, that could arise in field theories of particles and their interactions, are being analyzed with a view to obtaining constraints on their properties using tests of the "fifth force" and other gravitational experiments.
