Gravitational waves from black holes and neutron stars mergers

Séminaire IPAG de Michal Was (LAPP), jeudi 24 septembre 2020, 11h00, IPAG seminar room

Since their first observation in 2015 gravitational waves have opened a new astronomical observational window. After introducing gravitational waves and their detector I will summarize the results from the 2016-2017 observation run as well as the first results from the 2019-2020 observation run.

In 2017 the joint observation of GW170817 and GRB 170817A followed by extensive multi wavelength observations of its remnant have provided a wealth of new information on binary neutron star mergers as well as powerful test of general relativity. The most recent results highlight the diversity in mass of merging black holes and neutron stars, which challenges the standard astrophysical formation model of these compact objects.