Expanding The Frontiers Of Astronomy With Gravitational Waves

Public lecture given as part of West Virginia University's "Celebrating Einstein" events.

Transcript

1. Expanding The Frontiers Of Astronomy With Gravitational Waves Stephen R. Taylor JET PROPULSION LABORATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Credits: R. Hurt/Caltech-JPL
2. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 The Electromagnetic Universe 1610 1610 1931 1967 1962 1800 1965 1610 1610 Supernovae Relativistic collisions Supernovae Neutron stars Dust Cosmology Planet formation Jet outflows/ AGN Masers/ galactic structure
3. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 The Electromagnetic Universe 1610 1931 1967 1962 1800 1965 1610 1800 1965 1931 1962 1967 1610 1931 1967 1962 1800 1965 1610 1610 Supernovae Relativistic collisions Supernovae Neutron stars Dust Cosmology Planet formation Jet outflows/ AGN Masers/ galactic structure Credit: S. Burke-Spolaor
4. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Gravitational waves Perturbation to space-time metric. Sourced by accelerating masses. Any dynamical system with accelerating quadrupole moment produces GWs.
5. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Gravitational waves Perturbation to space-time metric. Sourced by accelerating masses. Any dynamical system with accelerating quadrupole moment produces GWs.
6. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Gravitational waves Perturbation to space-time metric. Sourced by accelerating masses. Any dynamical system with accelerating quadrupole moment produces GWs.
7. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project Gravitational waves h / M5/3f2/3 D
8. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project Gravitational waves h / M5/3f2/3 D
9. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt
10. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt 1916: Einstein first predicts GWs on basis of his field equations
11. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt 1916: Einstein first predicts GWs on basis of his field equations 1922: Some wave solutions are coordinate artifacts. Eddington jokes that they propagate “at the speed of thought”.
12. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt Dear Sir, We (Mr. Rosen and I) had sent you our manuscript for publication and had not authorized you to show it to specialists before it is printed. I see no reason to address the — in any case erroneous — comments of your anonymous expert. On the basis of this incident I prefer to publish the paper elsewhere. Respectfully, P.S. Mr. Rosen, who has left for the Soviet Union, has authorized me to represent him in this matter.
13. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt 1936: Einstein makes classic GR mistake, and claims GWs don’t exist. Seems unfamiliar with peer review. 1957: Feynman, Bondi, Pirani conclude that GWs are real because they should transmit energy. Dear Sir, We (Mr. Rosen and I) had sent you our manuscript for publication and had not authorized you to show it to specialists before it is printed. I see no reason to address the — in any case erroneous — comments of your anonymous expert. On the basis of this incident I prefer to publish the paper elsewhere. Respectfully, P.S. Mr. Rosen, who has left for the Soviet Union, has authorized me to represent him in this matter.
14. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt
15. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt 1969: Joe Weber invents experimental GW astronomy, but er roneously claims detection. 1974: Hulse & Taylor discover a binary pulsar. Orbital decay agrees beautifully with GR prediction due to GW emission. Nobel Prize in ’93.
16. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt
17. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 A Brief History of Doubt 1984 - 1994: Beginnings of LIGO with Thorne, Drever, Weiss. LIGO is officially funded by NSF. 2015: Advanced LIGO switches on. Nothing to see here…
18. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO [~20 Hz to ~kHz]
19. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO [~20 Hz to ~kHz] LIGO/T. Pyle
20. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO SO MUCH SCIENCE!
21. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO Tests of GR based on gravitational-waveforms SO MUCH SCIENCE!
22. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO Tests of GR based on gravitational-waveforms Probe EOS of nuclear matter. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
23. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO Tests of GR based on gravitational-waveforms Probe EOS of nuclear matter. Use NS-NS as “standard sirens” -> measure cosmological parameters without light! SO MUCH SCIENCE!
24. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO Tests of GR based on gravitational-waveforms Probe EOS of nuclear matter. Use NS-NS as “standard sirens” -> measure cosmological parameters without light! Test binary formation channels. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
25. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO/T. Pyle LIGO Tests of GR based on gravitational-waveforms Probe EOS of nuclear matter. Use NS-NS as “standard sirens” -> measure cosmological parameters without light! Test binary formation channels. Use catalogs of detections to probe population demographics and make census of merging compact systems in nearby Universe. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
26. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015
27. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015
28. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO September 14th, 2015
29. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LIGO September 14th, 2015
30. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015
31. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015 LIGO still technically in engineering mode. Huge BH-BH system detected! Signal in band for 200 ms. . Briefly more luminous than entire EM Universe. radiated as GWs! BHs merging. L ⇠ 1056 ergs 1 ⇠ 3M 2⇥ ⇠ 30M
32. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015 Call went out to EM partners to look for counterparts. D o n ’ t e x p e c t E M signature from BH-BH. Didn’t stop rampant (healthy?) speculation. Fermi measured <2 s bur st ~0.4 s after GW150914. Did not t r i g g e r o n b o a r d detector. Coincidence.
33. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 September 14th, 2015 EM counterparts give m u l t i - m e s s e n g e r explor ation of the Universe. BH-NS or NS-NS could give GRBs and kilonovae. Coincident observations could enhance detection significance, and binary- type ID.
34. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Future of ground detectors
35. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Future of ground detectors Einstein Telescope proposal 3rd generation detectors like LIGO Voyager will increase sensitivity through advanced laser tech and cryogenic cooling. Cosmic Explorer may follow the designs of ET and use 40km arms in equilateral triangle configuration!
36. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA [~0.1 - 100 mHz] ESA-C. Vijoux
37. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA
38. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA
39. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA
40. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA
41. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Things looked bleak for LISA a few years ago. Initially a joint NASA and ESA project. NASA pulled out in 2011 due to funding restrictions.
42. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA BUT…LISA Pathfinder was a huge success in demonstrating LISA technology. AND….GW150914 definitely helped. NASA Study Team has been formed. Back in the game? Things looked bleak for LISA a few years ago. Initially a joint NASA and ESA project. NASA pulled out in 2011 due to funding restrictions.
43. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA SO MUCH SCIENCE!
44. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! SO MUCH SCIENCE!
45. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
46. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. Will track their growth over cosmic time. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
47. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. Will track their growth over cosmic time. Full census of BH demographics through the history of the Universe. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
48. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. Will track their growth over cosmic time. Full census of BH demographics through the history of the Universe. Precision tests of gravity. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
49. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. Will track their growth over cosmic time. Full census of BH demographics through the history of the Universe. Precision tests of gravity. Small BH/NS around massive BH will trace out the space-time metric. SO MUCH SCIENCE!
50. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 LISA Sensitive to BH binaries out z~20 !! Will see the first seed BHs. Will track their growth over cosmic time. Full census of BH demographics through the history of the Universe. Precision tests of gravity. Small BH/NS around massive BH will trace out the space-time metric. Map out deviations from GR! SO MUCH SCIENCE!
51. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: David Champion PTAs [~1 - 100 nHz]
52. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: Bill Saxton PTAs
53. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: Bill Saxton Joeri van Leeuwen PTAs
54. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017
55. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 John Rowe Animation/Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO
56. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: David Champion
57. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: David Champion Hellings & Downs (1983)
58. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 SO MUCH SCIENCE! PTAs
59. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: CSIRO SO MUCH SCIENCE! PTAs
60. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: CSIRO SO MUCH SCIENCE! PTAs
61. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 Image credit: CSIRO SO MUCH SCIENCE! PTAs
62. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017
63. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017
64. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017
65. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017
66. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] 10 16
67. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] 10 16
68. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] Anisotropies in CMB mostly due to scalar density perturbations. 10 16
69. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] Anisotropies in CMB mostly due to scalar density perturbations. Produces “E-mode” polarization in CMB. 10 16
70. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] Anisotropies in CMB mostly due to scalar density perturbations. Produces “E-mode” polarization in CMB. Inflation predicts a background of primordial GWs. 10 16
71. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] Anisotropies in CMB mostly due to scalar density perturbations. Produces “E-mode” polarization in CMB. Inflation predicts a background of primordial GWs. These “tensor” perturbations produce “B-mode” type of polarization. 10 16
72. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 CMB [ Hz] Anisotropies in CMB mostly due to scalar density perturbations. Produces “E-mode” polarization in CMB. Inflation predicts a background of primordial GWs. These “tensor” perturbations produce “B-mode” type of polarization. Detection would prove existence of inflationary GWs, and allow probes of the first moments of the Universe. 10 16
73. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 .
74. Stephen Taylor West Virginia University, 04/20/2017 . Image credit: NASA Goddard