Related papers: Gravitational Music
The past four years have seen a scientific revolution through the birth of a new field: gravitational-wave astronomy. The first detection of gravitational waves---recognised by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics---provided unprecedented tests…
Coalescing black-hole binaries are expected to be the strongest sources of gravitational waves for ground-based interferometers as well as the space-based interferometer LISA. Recent progress in numerical relativity now makes it possible to…
"If one could ever prove the existence of gravitational waves, the processes responsible for their generation would probably be much more curious and interesting than even the waves themselves." (Gustav Mie, 1868 - 1957) The discovery of…
The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics---dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem---all involve gravity as a key component. And of all…
An enigmatic prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity is gravitational waves. With the observed decay in the orbit of the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar agreeing within a fraction of a percent with the theoretically computed decay…
Pulsar timing experiments are reaching sufficient sensitivity to detect a postulated stochastic gravitational wave background generated by merging supermassive black hole systems in the cores of galaxies. We describe the techniques behind…
Now that LIGO and Virgo have begun to detect gravitational wave events with regularity, the field of gravitational wave astronomy is beginning to realise its promise. Binary black holes and, very recently, binary neutron stars have been…
A world-wide array of highly sensitive interferometers stands poised to usher in a new era in astronomy with the first direct detection of gravitational waves. The data from these instruments will provide a unique perspective on extreme…
This article deals with the first detection of gravitational waves by the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on 14 September 2015, where the signal was generated by two stellar mass black holes…
The era of high precision Cosmology has shown our ignorance about the composition of the Universe. In this context, there has been a renewed interest on Alternative Theories of Gravity. Through the experience of a graviton measured by the…
The focus of this Chapter is on describing the prospective sources of the gravitational wave universe accessible to present and future observations, from kHz, to mHz down to nano-Hz frequencies. The multi-frequency gravitational wave…
The nascent field of gravitational-wave astronomy offers many opportunities for effective and inspirational astronomy outreach. Gravitational waves, the "ripples in space-time" predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity, are…
The new era of gravitational wave astronomy truly began on September 14, 2015 with the detection of GW150914, the sensational first direct observation of gravitational waves from the inspiral and merger of two black holes by the two…
Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors like the Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA experiments now regularly witness gravitational waves from compact binary mergers: the relativistic collisions of neutron stars and/or stellar-mass…
This decade will see the first direct detections of gravitational waves by observatories such as Advanced LIGO and Virgo. Among the prime sources are coalescences of binary neutron stars and black holes, which are ideal probes of dynamical…
As of today, we have directly detected exactly one source in both gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation, the binary neutron star merger GW170817, its associated gamma-ray burst GRB170817A, and the subsequent kilonova…
The explosive coalescence of two black holes 1.3 billion light years away has for the very first time allowed us to peer into the extreme gravity region of spacetime surrounding these events. With these maximally compact objects reaching…
The recently assembled laser-beam detectors of gravitational waves are approaching the planned level of sensitivity. In the coming 1 - 2 years, we may be observing the rare but powerful events of inspiral and merger of binary stellar-mass…
Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with…
The first direct observation of gravitational waves' action upon matter has recently been reported by the BICEP2 experiment. Advanced ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are being installed. They will soon be commissioned, and then…