LECTURE

Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

New Perspectives onto the Universe in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics

 

MON 16 SEPTEMBER, 20:00

Auditorium Minderbroedersberg 4-6

 

Samaya Nissanke, PhD, associate professor in gravitational wave and multi-messenger astrophysics, University of Amsterdam

Since the revolutionary discovery of gravitational wave emission from a binary black hole merger in 2015, the remarkable gravitational wave detectors LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA have detected at least ninety compact object mergers. These events are transforming modern astronomy.

The first binary neutron star merger, was observed in 2017 in both gravitational and electromagnetic radiation, thus opening up a new era in multi-messenger astrophysics. Multi-messenger astrophysics is the coordinated observation and interpretation of multiple signals received from the same astronomical event. The multi-messenger aspect enabled major advances into diverse fields of modern physics, from gravity, high-energy astrophysics, nuclear physics, to cosmology.

In this talk, Nissanke will discuss her work in strong-field gravity astrophysics and how combining observations, theory and experiment have been key in making progress in this field. She will present the challenges and the opportunities that have emerged in multi-messenger astrophysics, and what the future holds.