Astro2010 Decadal Survey Whitepaper: Coordinated Science in the Gravitational and Electromagnetic Skies
Abstract
It is widely expected that the coming decade will witness the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). The ground-based LIGO and Virgo GW observatories are being upgraded to advanced sensitivity, and are expected to observe a significant binary merger rate. The launch of The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) would extend the GW window to low frequencies, opening new vistas on dynamical processes involving massive (M >~ 10^5 M_Sun) black holes. GW events are likely to be accompanied by electromagnetic (EM) counterparts and, since information carried electromagnetically is complementary to that carried gravitationally, a great deal can be learned about an event and its environment if it becomes possible to measure both forms of radiation in concert. Measurements of this kind will mark the dawn of trans-spectral astrophysics, bridging two distinct spectral bands of information. The aim of this whitepaper is to articulate future directions in both theory and observation that are likely to impact broad astrophysical inquiries of general interest. What will EM observations reflect on the nature and diversity of GW sources? Can GW sources be exploited as complementary probes of cosmology? What cross-facility coordination will expand the science returns of gravitational and electromagnetic observations?
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0902.1527,
title = {Astro2010 Decadal Survey Whitepaper: Coordinated Science in the Gravitational and Electromagnetic Skies},
author = {Joshua S. Bloom and Daniel E. Holz and Scott A. Hughes and Kristen Menou and Allan Adams and Scott F. Anderson and Andy Becker and Geoffrey C. Bower and Niel Brandt and Bethany Cobb and Kem Cook and Alessandra Corsi and Stefano Covino and Derek Fox and Andrew Fruchter and Chris Fryer and Jonathan Grindlay and Dieter Hartmann and Zoltan Haiman and Bence Kocsis and Lynne Jones and Abraham Loeb and Szabolcs Marka and Brian Metzger and Ehud Nakar and Samaya Nissanke and Daniel A. Perley and Tsvi Piran and Dovi Poznanski and Tom Prince and Jeremy Schnittman and Alicia Soderberg and Michael Strauss and Peter S. Shawhan and David H. Shoemaker and Jonathan Sievers and Christopher Stubbs and Gianpiero Tagliaferri and Pietro Ubertini and Przemyslaw Wozniak},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0902.1527},
year = {2012}
}
Comments
7 pages (plus one coverpage), submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey. This is a living document, with updates expected to be posted to this archive. Those interested in contributing should contact J. S. Bloom