2016/10/17 by Monica Colpi, Alberto Sesana · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1142/9789813141766_0002
101 pages, 34 figures. Introduction to the multi-frequency gravitational wave universe, providing an overarching view of the physics and astrophysics of gravitational wave sources with particular emphasis on binary systems. To appear in: An Overview of Gravitational Waves: Theory Sources and Detection. Edited by G. Auger and E. Plagnol (World Scientific, 2016)
arxiv created 2016/10/17 · openalex created_date 2016/10/28 · openalex publication_date 2017/02/17 · arxiv updated 2017/04/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The focus of this Chapter is on describing the prospective sources of the gravitational wave universe accessible to present and future observations, from kHz, to mHz down to nano-Hz frequencies. The multi-frequency gravitational wave universe gives a deep view into the cosmos, inaccessible otherwise. It has as main actors core-collapsing massive stars, neutron stars, coalescing compact object binaries of different flavours and stellar origin, coalescing massive black hole binaries, extreme mass ratio inspirals, and possibly the very early universe itself. Here, we highlight the science aims and describe the gravitational wave signals expected from the sources and the information gathered in it. We show that the observation of gravitational wave sources will play a transformative role in our understanding of the processes ruling the formation and evolution of stars and black holes, galaxy clustering and evolution, the nature of the strong forces in neutron star interiors, and the most mysterious interaction of Nature: gravity. The discovery, by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration, of the first source of gravitational waves from the cosmos GW150914, and the superb technological achievement of the space mission LISA Pathfinder herald the beginning of the new phase of exploration of the universe.