Dr. Michael Landry Colloquium
Thu. Apr. 7 03:00 PM
- Thu. Apr. 7 04:00 PM
Location: 2M73
Dr. Michael Landry
for the LIGO and Virgo Scientific CollaborationsLIGO Hanford Observatory/CaltechObservation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger by LIGO
On September 14, 2015, the two interferometric detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected gravitational waves from a binary black hole system. Denoted GW150914, the signal swept in frequency from 35Hz to 250Hz, and had a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0e-21. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.
In this talk we will briefly discuss gravitational waves and sources, the status of the second-generation interferometric detectors, and the first observing run of Advanced LIGO, O1. We then present the detection of this binary black hole system in gravitational waves, and some of the physics and astrophysics conclusions that are drawn from the data. We close with an outlook for the future.