LIGO’s detection of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger (Dr. P. Fritschel)

  • Datum: 07.07.2016
  • Uhrzeit: 15:30 - 16:30
  • Vortragende(r): Dr. Peter K. Fritschel, MIT KAVli Institute for Astrophysics AND Space Research, Massachusetts, USA
  • Raum: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
  • Gastgeber: MPQ
On September 14, 2015 the two LIGO gravitational wave detectors in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana registered a coincident signal conforming to the gravitational waveform expected from the merger of two massive, compact objects.

Further analysis of the signal revealed that the gravitational waves came from the merger of a binary black hole system approximately 420 Mpc distant. The initial black holes were 36 and 29 solar masses, and merged into a final black hole of 62 solar masses, radiating 3 solar masses of energy in gravitational waves in the process. In this talk I will describe the design and operation of the LIGO detectors, explaining how they achieved the measurement sensitivity required to detect the 1x10^{-21} strain amplitude produced by this source. I’ll also discuss what lies ahead for both the detectors and the new field of gravitational wave astronomy.

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