Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy
The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of gravitational-wave observatories, with other members in Europe, J...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Elsevier
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101191 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6211-1388 |
| _version_ | 1826211312249602048 |
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| author | Hughes, Scott A. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Hughes, Scott A. |
| author_sort | Hughes, Scott A. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of gravitational-wave observatories, with other members in Europe, Japan, and—hopefully—Australia. Plans are rapidly maturing for a low frequency, space-based gravitational-wave observatory: LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, to be launched around 2011. The goal of these instruments is to inaugurate the field of gravitational-wave astronomy: using gravitational waves as a means of listening to highly relativistic dynamical processes in astrophysics. This review discusses the promise of this field, outlining why gravitational waves are worth pursuing, and what they are uniquely suited to teach us about astrophysical phenomena. We review the current state of the field, both theoretical and experimental, and then highlight some aspects of gravitational-wave science that are particularly exciting (at least to this author). |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:03:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/101191 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:03:55Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1011912022-10-02T00:22:37Z Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy Hughes, Scott A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Hughes, Scott A. The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of gravitational-wave observatories, with other members in Europe, Japan, and—hopefully—Australia. Plans are rapidly maturing for a low frequency, space-based gravitational-wave observatory: LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, to be launched around 2011. The goal of these instruments is to inaugurate the field of gravitational-wave astronomy: using gravitational waves as a means of listening to highly relativistic dynamical processes in astrophysics. This review discusses the promise of this field, outlining why gravitational waves are worth pursuing, and what they are uniquely suited to teach us about astrophysical phenomena. We review the current state of the field, both theoretical and experimental, and then highlight some aspects of gravitational-wave science that are particularly exciting (at least to this author). National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant PHY-9907949) 2016-02-16T15:03:27Z 2016-02-16T15:03:27Z 2003-01 2002-10 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 00034916 1096-035X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101191 Hughes, Scott A. “Listening to the Universe with Gravitational-Wave Astronomy.” Annals of Physics 303, no. 1 (January 2003): 142–178. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6211-1388 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4916(02)00025-8 Annals of Physics Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Hughes, Scott A. Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title | Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title_full | Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title_fullStr | Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title_short | Listening to the universe with gravitational-wave astronomy |
| title_sort | listening to the universe with gravitational wave astronomy |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101191 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6211-1388 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hughesscotta listeningtotheuniversewithgravitationalwaveastronomy |