Comet Calendar

Speaker: Hector Okada da Silva, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

The coalescence of compact binaries and the gravitational waves produced in this process provides a unique glimpse into gravity in its strong, dynamic, and nonlinear regime. Prominent during a black-hole coalescence is the plunge-merger stage when the black holes collide at a significant fraction of the speed of light. How robust are the predictions of Einstein's general relativity at this stage? I will discuss a relatively simple gravitational waveform model that allows us to explore this question. As an application, I will use this waveform model to reanalyse two black-hole events, GW150914 and GW200129. In particular, the analysis of GW200129 turned into a detective adventure. It revealed a series of subtle issues that must be considered when interpreting tests of general relativity with present-day gravitational-wave observations.

Sciences Building (SCI), 3.214A
800 W. Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080-3021

Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Michael Kesden
Email
972-883-3598

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