Events Calendar
The First Direct Detection of Gravitational Waves
Tuesday March 1, 2016
| 2:00 pm
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Presenter: | Emil Mottola, LANL |
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| Series: | Nuclear, Particle, Astroparticle and Cosmology (NUPAC) Seminars | |
| Abstract: |
The announcement by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration of simultaneous detection of the gravitational wave signal of the inspiral and coalescence of a binary 'black hole' system by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory at both the Livingston, LA and Hanford, WA sites is a spectacular scientific and technological achievement. In addition to verifying a major prediction of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, proposed almost exactly 100 years prior to this discovery, and successfully capping a decades-long quest, the first detection of gravitational waves opens a new window on the universe, independent of the electromagnetic spectrum.
I will give an basic overview of gravitational waves in General Relativity and review the LIGO discovery for non-experts. If time allows, there will follow a discussion of the possibilities in physics and astrophysics the dawning of gravitational wave astronomy opens up. |
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| Host: | Rouzbeh Allahverdi | |
| Location: | PAIS-2540, PAIS | |
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