March 23, 2023
Amanda Baylor '20 will present "Early Warning of Gravitational Waves from Compact Mergers". Free pizza and everyone is welcome to attend.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) unlocked the ability to study the universe in an entirely new way by making the first direct detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes. Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime generated by accelerating massive objects, such as neutron stars or black holes. Compact object mergers involving at least one neutron star could produce electromagnetic counterparts which can be used to study the fundamental physics of gravity and measure cosmological parameters. However, if electromagnetic observatories are not pointed at the location of the source prior to merger, we miss vital information about the physics of merger. This presents a need for early-warning alerts, which are alerts that are sent to observatories once a gravitational wave has been detected but before the objects collide and merge. This talk will provide an overview of gravitational-wave physics from detection to data analysis and discuss the prospects for early warning in LIGO’s next observing run, set to begin in May 2023.
Further information
- Location: Tome 115
- Time: 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
- Cost: Free