Place: 4421 Sterling Hall, Coffee and cookies 3:30 PM, Talk begins 3:45 PM
Speaker: Vicky Kalogera, Northwestern University
Abstract: The detection of gravitational waves by ground-based interferometric detectors has by now revealed a previously unobserved population of merging black holes and has firmly linked the mergers of neutron stars with gamma-ray bursts and heavy element production. I will review the most current gravitational-wave discoveries, the measured physical properties of the compact objects involved and how these measurements enable us to probe the astrophysics of compact objects, and constrain models of massive-star evolution. I will conclude with our expectations for further discoveries as the sensitivity of detectors continues to improve.