Monday, March 07, 2016 at 4:00 PM

JILA Auditorium

Phil Armitage, Univ of Colorado

"Astrophysical Implications of the LIGO Detections"

Abstract:

On February 11, 2016, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) reported the detection of gravitational waves from both Livingston (LA) and Hanford (WA) sites. The signals (see figure) were consistent with the in-spiral and merger of two black holes of masses of 29 Msun and 36 Msun in a galaxy 1.3 (+/-0.3) billion light years away. In a brief time of 0.2 seconds, the source radiated away an energy of 5x10^54 ergs, equivalent to losing a rest mass (Mc^2) of 3 solar masses. This talk will explore the astrophysical implications of the formation and evolution of such binary-BH sources and the future of gravitational-wave astronomy.

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