ASET Colloquium
The New Wave in Physics, Astronomy and Technology
by Prof. C.S.Unnikrishnan (DHEP, TIFR)
Friday, March 4, 2016
from
to
(Asia/Kolkata)
at AG-66
at AG-66
Description |
Gravitational waves are generated by accelerated masses, the charge of gravity, and the propagating field can move other masses. Though there are gravitational waves all around us, their amplitude is too small to be detected, except in those rare situations involving stellar mass compact objects like neutron stars or black holes moving very fast. Naturally, such events happen very far from us at extra-galactic distances and reliable detection then needs instruments that can measure relative displacement smaller than a billionth of the atomic size. An optical interferometer operated at the quantum noise limit turns out to be natural choice, but needs several enhancements and precautions before it can function as a gravitational wave detector. The advanced LIGO detectors are such enhanced interferometers. Barely a week after they started calibrated stable operation, a few month ago, relatively strong gravitational waves from orbiting and merging binary black holes were detected, marking a genuine and impressive beginning for gravitational wave astronomy. I will discuss the physics of gravitational waves and the detectors, the enhancements that enabled the recent detection and some aspects of the first source seen and heard by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. The event also inspired the cabinet approval for the LIGO-India project proposed by the IndIGO Consortium for an identical detector in India, to be built in collaboration with the US LIGO laboratories and operated as part of the gravitational wave detectors network of the next decade. |
Material: | |
Organised by | Dr. Satyanarayana Bheesette |
PODCAST | click here to start |