Description:

Title: The Dawn of Multi-messenger Astrophysics: Gravitational Waves and Light from GW170817

Speaker:Wen-fai Fong, Vicky Kalogera, and Raffaella Margutti, Northwestern University, Department of Physics & Astronomy

Abstract: The detection of gravitational waves and light from the same cosmic source has become one of the most highly-anticipated discoveries in physics and astronomy. Thanks to the recent onset of Advanced LIGO/Virgo, on August 17, 2017, this discovery came to fruition with the first direct detection of a merger of two neutron stars, followed by the detection of electromagnetic emission across ten orders of magnitude in wavelength. The merger, termed GW170817, was localized to a galaxy in our own cosmic neighborhood, allowing us to study the properties of the merger and its environment in unprecedented detail. Here, we describe our combined efforts to localize GW170817 and uncover its properties through gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations. In particular, we present observational evidence for several firsts: the merger of two neutron stars, the launching of a relativistic outflow from the merger, and evidence for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in a merger. We also present a description of the progenitor and host galaxy environment of GW170817, and a brief comparison to cosmological short gamma-ray bursts. Finally, we discuss the open questions raised by GW170817 and the bright future ahead for multi-messenger astronomy.

Host: Schmitt

Speaker Schedule

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, colloquium