Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Many-year-long quest for gravitational waves (predicted by A. Einstein back in 1916) has succeeded. On September 14, 2015 two located in USA LIGO interferometers registered signal emitted by two merging black holes. The observation is the first direct experimental confirmation of existence of black holes and existence of systems composed of at least two black holes. The observation  has opened a new window through which we can also observe our Universe – gravitational wave astronomy. Topics to-be-tackled in the lecture include nature of gravitational waves, techniques capable to detect such waves, perspectives faced by gravitational wave astronomy, and contribution of Polish scientists to current and future observations of gravitational waves. 

All interested are invited
Agnieszka Majczyna