The Future of

Gravitational Wave Science

Bernard Schutz

Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam

Einstein@HomeAlbert Einstein Institute

18 December 2006

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Detecting the waves: a long quest• Einstein knew they had to be

there, but he believed they would be too weak to detect.

• Joe Weber built the first detectors, then (1970) believed they were so strong that he had really detected them.

• LIGO, GEO, VIRGO, TAMA started design in 1980s, building in 1990s, operation very recently.

• Meanwhile astronomy has made lots of progress, so we know what we are looking for!

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Verifying Einstein’s theory

• The first detection will verify Einstein’s theory.

• We will be looking not just for the wave but for – How strong it is– How it affects the detectors

(polarization)– How fast it travels (speed = c?)

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Gravitational wave astronomy• Many of our sources are the most energetic

events in the universe. Detecting and following them up is catastrophe science: rare, exciting, informative.

• The effect on our detectors is tiny: the detector stretches by less than the diameter of a proton, over a 4-km baseline.

• Data analysis crucial to separating real waves from local disturbances. – Like listening to someone speaking to you

over a noisy telephone line. – Huge computer power is needed. – Einstein@Home very important to us!

HISSSS…!

Hello?...Hello?...

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Explosions of stars

• What happens in the very center of the supernova explosion?

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Mergers of stars and black holes

• Can we finally SEE black holes?

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Spinning pulsars

• What do neutron stars look like?

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

The very early universe

• Did inflation happen? What led to the laws of physics as we see them now?

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Data analysis

• Data analysis is about listening to all of these signals at once:– Identifying type– Location on sky– Extract understanding

Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Future: LISADetecting waves from space

• Study the early universe back to the first stars and black holes.

• Measure how the acceleration of the universe has changed in the past.

• LISA Pathfinder launch 2009

• LISA itself in 2015, if money permits!

Learn More! Einstein Online at http://www.einstein-online.info