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Speaker |
Nissanke, Samaya |
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| Talk Title |
Follow the Chirp: seeing and listening to neutron star mergers. |
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Abstract |
The mergers of binary neutrons stars are amongst some of the most violent events in the Universe. The physics driving these events in strongly curved dynamic spacetimes are extremely complex but still remain elusive. These cosmic laboratories present us now with both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to explain the physics at play in strong-field gravity in Universe. The opportunity is to detect the accompanying electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational radiation for the first time with a suite of time-domain telescopes and newly upgraded gravitational wave (GW) detectors. In this pivotal era of strong-field gravity astronomy, the most compelling astrophysical sources are neutron star binary mergers, which should emit both in electromagnetic and GWs. I will first review the most recent advances in this new field of EM + GW astronomy, which combines three active disciplines: time-domain astronomy, stellar evolution and general relativity. I will discuss the promises of this convergence by illustrating the wealth of astrophysical information that a combined EM+GW measurement would immediately bring. I will then outline the main challenges that lie ahead for this new field in pinpointing the sky location of neutron star mergers using GW detectors and optical and radio observatories. |
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