Lecture about gravitational waves
Prof. dr. Jo van den Brand, spokesperson Virgo, will give an evening lecture about gravitational waves. In this lecture he will give an introduction to the theory behind gravitational waves, a description of the sources and the way in which we can measure them, and he will elaborate on the discoveries that have been made so far. Finally, he will talk about the Einstein Telescope, why it is more sensitive than previous detectors, and what kind of new astrophysical information we expect to measure.
The first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, was the start of a completely new view on the universe. Gravitational waves are ripples in the structure of space and time, traveling at the speed of light through the universe and being formed by the most catastrophic phenomena in the universe. One can think of black holes that merge, neutron stars that tear each other apart, and even the big bang itself. Now that we can detect these waves, we are able to unravel deep mysteries about these phenomena that were invisible with the previous viewing techniques.
The current gravitational wave detectors: the two LIGO detectors in the United States and the Virgo detector in Europe are just the beginning. Every since, the European scientific community has spearheaded the construction of a new, more sensitive detector. The intention is to get this so-called Einstein Telescope operational within a decade. The Einstein Telescope will be built underground, and one of the possible locations for this is the Limburg region, near or across the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. With this new detector we will be able to look deeper into the Universe than ever before.
