You've probably read or heard about the latest breakthrough in gravitational-wave astronomy--the first detection to two neutron stars merging, with the added bonus of the first follow-on observations of the event across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from gamma rays to radio waves.
Artist's conception of neutron stars merging
Credit: NASA
With three gravitational-wave observatories online (see LIGO and VIRGO), observers were able to accurately triangulate the most recent burst of gravitational waves that rumbled past Earth on August 17. With a much smaller part of the sky to scan, astronomers were able to pin down the source of the event--the merger of two neutron stars in a distant galaxy producing a kilonova--and track its evolution through observations in gamma-rays, x-rays, visible light, infrared and radio waves.
This unprecedented series of observations let astronomers compare the neutron-star merger to theoretical predictions in great detail, including proving that most of the elements heavier than iron--including gold, platinum and uranium-are forged in these collisions. They also provided new information about the accelerating expansion of the universe. In addition, it demonstates that astronomers now have a huge new window into the universe that promises a stream of surprises and new discoveries.
For great pictures, animations and a more in-depth description of this breakthrough and its implications, click here.
Researchers at LIGO, the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory, announced today their third detection of space-time vibrations from the collision of of a pair of black holes, in this case nearly three billion light-years from Earth.
In terms of mass, this new black hole merger--which created a black hole with a mass 49 times heavier than our Sun--fell neatly between the two earlier detections, in September and December of 2015. Those two cosmic crashes resulted in black holes with 62 and 21 times the Sun's mass respectively, and took place much closer to Earth.
The current crash was between black holes with estimated masses of 31.2 and 19.4 times that of the Sun. That means that a mass equal to two Suns was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second as the two black holes completed their death spiral.
Simulated black-hole merger
Credit: LIGO Lab Caltech
This third detection tells the scientists that the unique new window on the cosmos provided by gravitational-wave detectors is now wide open. With improved sensitivity of LIGO's existing laser interferometers and the addition later this year of a third detector, called Virgo, the researchers hope to be able to detect black hole mergers and other space-time-shaking events on a daily basis.
Aerial view of the Virgo interferometer near Pisa, Italy Credit: The Virgo Consortium
Besides further proof of the existence of black holes in this mass range, the detection allowed researchers to test one of the predictions of Einstein's General Relativity--that gravitational waves travel through space at the same speed regardless of their frequency. Once again, General Relativity passed the test.
“It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us," says MIT's David Shoemaker, LIGO's spokesperson.
The number of black holes in this mass range raises the intriguing possibility that they may at least partly explain dark matter, which is known to exist because of its gravitational effects on galaxies and galaxy clusters, but whose nature remains mysterious.
"There's this intriguing indication that with the size of black holes, 10-100 solar masses, in about the
quantity that we see them or expect to see them, might account for
dark matter," says LIGO researcher Mike Landry. "It's not
impossible."
For the first time, researchers were able to suss out information about how the black holes were spinning before they collided. It's more likely than not that the black holes were not spinning in the same plane as their orbit. That, in turn, implies that they may have formed far apart and only later fell into each other's gravitational thrall.
As gravitational-wave astronomers detect more of these incredibly powerful cosmic events, and gain the ability to match them with observations using visible light, infrared, X-rays and gamma rays, astrophysicists, nuclear physicists and cosmologists all expect exciting new findings that will cast light on black holes, neutron stars, dark matter and the nature of space-time itself.
--Suggests that there are more black hole pairs than expected
--Confirms that we've entered the era of gravitational wave astronomy
Researchers representing the LIGO and Virgo consortiums announced today that their twin gravitational wave detectors recorded a second black hole merger on December 26, 2015. The discovery was announced at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society, in San Diego, California, and will be detailed in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Simulation of spacetime distortion as two black holes merge
This event differed significantly from the first detected black hole merger, which took place on September 14, 2015 (see zerospinzone, February 11, 2016, below). These two black holes were very light compared to the first pair, which weighed in at 36 and 29 times the mass of our sun. The researchers calculate that the second pair of collapsed stars weighed just 14 and 8 times the mass of the sun.
Crucially, because they were less massive, their death spiral took far longer, providing the researchers with much more information. Instead of a "chirp" lasting just one-fifth of a second, this merger warped and roiled spacetime for a full second as the black holes whirled around each other 57 times before merging and falling silent. The radiating ripples through spacetime carried away as much energy as if the entire mass of the sun were instantly transformed into pure energy.
Spacetime seismograms recorded at LIGO's gravitational-wave detectors
It's easy to see the increase in amplitude and frequency as
the two black holes whirled closer and closer together
Detecting two black hole mergers during the short first run of the LIGO interferometers--September 12, 2015 through January 19, 2016--implies that there are more relatively low-mass black hole pairs than expected lurking in the nearby universe. The LIGO team is currently making their twin detectors even more sensitive. So when they start their second round of observations this fall, they expect to detect many more gravitational events, eventually hundreds or even thousands per year.
A team of theorists at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, is excited by the hint that there may be many black holes in this mass range. They are exploring the possibility that these are primordial black holes, formed directly from gas clouds in the early history of the universe. If there are enough of them, they may explain dark matter, whose nature remains a major mystery despite decades of efforts to pin it down.
The Virgo team hopes to have a third Earth-based gravitational wave observatory, near Pisa, Italy, up and running later this year. The three detectors working together will allow researchers to pinpoint the location in space of black hole mergers and other sources of gravitational waves such as rapidly spinning neutron stars or colliding neutron stars.
Researchers in the now burgeoning field of gravitational astronomy hope one day to be able to listen in on the gravitational relics of the Big Bang itself--the birth cry of our universe.
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