Gravitational wave science at the University of Birmingham
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Most of our knowledge about the Universe at large has been derived from what scientists refer to as "electromagnetic radiation" - ranging from radio waves through infrared radiation and light, to X-rays and gamma rays. This has changed dramatically on September 14, 2015 when we directly detected for the first time ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. The observational of the first gravitational-wave signal (GW150914) generated by the collision of two black holes has opened a new chapter in astronomy.
We have discovered binary black holes, and learnt that every 15 minutes somewhere in the Universe two `heavy' stellar-mass black holes collide. In fact, since September 2015 we have observed several tens of collisions of this kind, including a system of 150 times the mass of the Sun, the first observation of what astronomers refer to as an intermediate mass black hole.
On August 17, 2017 we observed GW170817, the first merger of a binary neutron star. Electro-magnetic radiation generated in the aftermath of the collision of the two neutron stars was then detected across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma-rays to radio waves, in one of the most intense observational campaigns of a single object in the history of astronomy. This first multi-messenger observation has demonstrated that double neutron star mergers are the engine powering short-hard gamma ray bursts and an important site for production of heavy elements, such as gold and platinum, in the Universe.
The Birmingham group has played a key role in the development of the gravitational-wave instruments (Advanced LIGO) that enabled these discoveries, the analysis of the data, the characterisation of the properties of the sources, and the follow-up observational campaign of GW170817. We are now working on producing improved hardware for the Advanced LIGO upgrade (A+) which will increase the volume of the universe we can probe by a factor of ten, and on even more audacious technologies for more radical upgrades and new facilities for the next decade.
In the coming years we expect to be able to observe a gravitational-wave signal every day. We are preparing to use these signals from merging black holes and neutron stars to learn more about the evolution of these objects, stars, matter in extreme conditions, and to test our understanding of gravity itself. The advanced technology which we are investigating will make future improvements to gravitational-wave observatories, so that much weaker signals can be observed and studied.
We have discovered binary black holes, and learnt that every 15 minutes somewhere in the Universe two `heavy' stellar-mass black holes collide. In fact, since September 2015 we have observed several tens of collisions of this kind, including a system of 150 times the mass of the Sun, the first observation of what astronomers refer to as an intermediate mass black hole.
On August 17, 2017 we observed GW170817, the first merger of a binary neutron star. Electro-magnetic radiation generated in the aftermath of the collision of the two neutron stars was then detected across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma-rays to radio waves, in one of the most intense observational campaigns of a single object in the history of astronomy. This first multi-messenger observation has demonstrated that double neutron star mergers are the engine powering short-hard gamma ray bursts and an important site for production of heavy elements, such as gold and platinum, in the Universe.
The Birmingham group has played a key role in the development of the gravitational-wave instruments (Advanced LIGO) that enabled these discoveries, the analysis of the data, the characterisation of the properties of the sources, and the follow-up observational campaign of GW170817. We are now working on producing improved hardware for the Advanced LIGO upgrade (A+) which will increase the volume of the universe we can probe by a factor of ten, and on even more audacious technologies for more radical upgrades and new facilities for the next decade.
In the coming years we expect to be able to observe a gravitational-wave signal every day. We are preparing to use these signals from merging black holes and neutron stars to learn more about the evolution of these objects, stars, matter in extreme conditions, and to test our understanding of gravity itself. The advanced technology which we are investigating will make future improvements to gravitational-wave observatories, so that much weaker signals can be observed and studied.
Publications
Utina A
(2022)
ETpathfinder: a cryogenic testbed for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
in Classical and Quantum Gravity
Steinle N
(2023)
Implications of pulsar timing array observations for LISA detections of massive black hole binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Pratten G
(2021)
Assessing gravitational-wave binary black hole candidates with Bayesian odds
in Physical Review D
De Renzis V
(2022)
Characterization of merging black holes with two precessing spins
in Physical Review D
Thomas L
(2022)
Accelerating multimodal gravitational waveforms from precessing compact binaries with artificial neural networks
in Physical Review D
Ghosh S
(2024)
First frequency-domain phenomenological model of the multipole asymmetry in gravitational-wave signals from binary-black-hole coalescence
in Physical Review D
Williams N
(2022)
Prospects for distinguishing dynamical tides in inspiralling binary neutron stars with third generation gravitational-wave detectors
in Physical Review D
Pratten G
(2023)
LISA science performance in observations of short-lived signals from massive black hole binary coalescences
in Physical Review D
Bonino A
(2023)
Inferring eccentricity evolution from observations of coalescing binary black holes
in Physical Review D
Pratten G
(2023)
Precision tracking of massive black hole spin evolution with LISA
in Physical Review D
Rettegno P
(2023)
Strong-field scattering of two spinning black holes: Numerical relativity versus post-Minkowskian gravity
in Physical Review D
Pratten G
(2022)
Impact of Dynamical Tides on the Reconstruction of the Neutron Star Equation of State.
in Physical review letters
Zhang T
(2023)
Gravitational-Wave Detector for Postmerger Neutron Stars: Beyond the Quantum Loss Limit of the Fabry-Perot-Michelson Interferometer
in Physical Review X
Cooper S
(2023)
Sensors and actuators for the advanced LIGO A+ upgrade
in Review of Scientific Instruments
De Renzis V
(2022)
Characterization of merging black holes with two precessing spins
Pratten G
(2023)
Precision tracking of massive black hole spin evolution with LISA
Description | GEO Collaboration |
Organisation | Max Planck Society |
Department | Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Data analysis and instrumental development |
Collaborator Contribution | Data analysis and instrumental development |
Impact | Many papers, technology developments, and outreach events |
Description | GEO Collaboration |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Department | Physics and Astronomy Department |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Data analysis and instrumental development |
Collaborator Contribution | Data analysis and instrumental development |
Impact | Many papers, technology developments, and outreach events |