Giovedì 23 Giugno - ore 16:30 - Seminario di Dipartimento - Michele Vallisneri - GW150914: LIGO's First Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
Luogo: Aula Newton Plesso Fisico
Relatore: Michele Vallisneri - Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
E-mail organizzaotore: raffaella.burioni@fis.unipr.it
Abstract:
On September 14, 2015, the two LIGO detectors simultaneously observed a
transient gravitational-wave signal, which was named GW150914. The signal
matched the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and
merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the merged remnant
black hole. This was the first direct detection of gravitational waves and
the first observation of a binary black hole merger. I describe the
mechanics of the detection, its astrophysical implications, and the tests
of general relativity that can be performed with the signal. I also
discuss results from the entirety of Advanced LIGO’s first observing run.