Gravitational Waves | Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation

Predicted in 1916 by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, Gravitational Wave (GWs) are ripples in the fabric of space and time produced by violent events in the distant universe, such as the collision of two black holes and/or neutron stars or shockwaves from the cores of supernova explosions (the massive explosions of dying stars). These waves race outwards from the collision with the speed of light, carrying huge amounts of energy and bringing with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues as to the nature of gravity. GWs have thus far not been directly observed, but NSF Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is on the verge of detecting GWs from compact stellar-mass binaries, and NASA/ESA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is being designed to detect GWs from coalescing supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which reside at the core of most galaxies.

By viewing the universe in GWs, we will be able to directly observe events like black hole collisions that are hidden from conventional electromagnetic-based (e.g. optical or radio) astronomy. In addition, if past experience with infrared, radio wave, and gamma-ray astronomy give us an indication of what to expect when we open this new gravitational-wave window onto the universe, there may be many surprising new discoveries waiting to be made. Scenarios that we have yet to imagine could be the most energetic sources of GWs. The direct observation of GWs itself will be one of the greatest discoveries of fundamental physics of the 21st century. A Nobel Prize was already awarded in this field, in 1993; a new Nobel Prize is expected within the next few years for the direct detection of GWs.

One of the CCRG research focus is on GW data analysis and its interplay with astrophysical source simulation, e.g. how the results of source simulations of compact objects can be used to design data analyses that extract relevant information from GW detectors data such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).