[Physstaff] Colloquium, LIGO Detection of Gravitational Waves 24/2/2016: "Matters of Gravity: 3" Nick Lockerbie (Strathclyde)

[Daniel Oi]

Next week's colloquium will be given by Dr Nick Lockerbie (Strathclyde) on the recently announced direct detection of gravitational waves by LIGO. All are welcome, undergraduates especially. Note change from usual venue.

Title: Matters of Gravity: 3
Speaker: Dr Nick Lockerbie (Physics, Strathclyde)
Venue: John Anderson Building JA3.25
Time/Date: 3pm Wednesday 24th February 2016

Abstract:
On 14 September, 2015, at 09:50 and 45 seconds, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time-a similar time to that of the GMT time zone) the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States observed simultaneously a transient gravitational-wave signal. It was the middle of the night at both LIGO Hanford WA (01:50 and 45 seconds), and LIGO Livingston LA (03:50 and 45 seconds), but low-latency, automatic, search algorithms, designed for the detection of generic gravitational-wave transients, reported the detection within 3 minutes of data acquisition.  The LIGO detectors, each measuring 4 km x 4 km, are arguably the most sensitive detectors on Earth.  They are capable of detecting differential changes in the dimensions of space itself on the order of 10^-19 m Hz^-1/2, at frequencies ~200 Hz, and they recorded these transient signals with a signal-to-noise ratio of 24.  Astrophysical models subsequently showed the signals to have come from a binary Black-Hole merger, approximately 1.3 billion light-years away.  I shall discuss the nature of gravitational waves (GWs), the design of the LIGO instruments and how the GWs were detected, and the part that the University of Strathclyde played in this extraordinary discovery.  I shall conclude with some comments on the nature of this particular source of gravitational waves, and what this might augur for the future.

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Dr Daniel K. L. Oi
Lecturer, Quantum Information
Computational Nonlinear & Quantum Optics
SUPA Department of Physics
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow G4 0NG
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 141 548 3112
Fax: +44 141 552 2891
Web: cnqo.phys.strath.ac.uk

The Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Rated No. 1 in the UK by the UK led Research Excellence Framework (REF2014).

The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, number SCO15263

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