Gravitational-wave Astrophysics: 10 Years of Observing the (Mostly) Dark Side of the Universe

Event Date:
2025-10-16T16:00:00
2025-10-16T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 201
Speaker:
David Reitze, Caltech & LIGO
Related Upcoming Events:
Department Colloquia
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Georg Rieger (rieger@phas.ubc.ca) and Brett Gladman (gladman@astro.ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this event!

Event Information:

Abstract: 

The first direct detection of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding black holes 10 years ago opened a new window to the high energy universe.  Since 2015 the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA international gravitational-wave detector network has observed hundreds of events, mostly pairs of black holes but also binary neutron star mergers as well as neutron star - black hole collisions.  The information revealed in these detections is changing our understanding of the Universe.

This talk will cover the fundamentals of gravitational-wave detection, present recent highlights from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing runs, and discuss what they reveal about the cosmos.  We'll also look at the future generation of gravitational-wave observatories being planned for the next decade that are being designed to probe the entirety of the Universe.

 

Bio: 


 

David Reitze is the Executive Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory at Caltech and Research Professor at the California Institute of Technology. Prior to that, he spent almost 20 years on the faculty of the University of Florida in the Physics Department. His research focuses on the development of ultrasensitive gravitational-wave detectors and gravitational-wave astronomy. Reitze was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Optica, and the American Association of the Advancement of Science. He currently serves on the National Academies Board on Physics and Astronomy in addition to the AURA Board of Directors.

Learn More: 

Resources:

 

Add to Calendar 2025-10-16T16:00:00 2025-10-16T17:00:00 Gravitational-wave Astrophysics: 10 Years of Observing the (Mostly) Dark Side of the Universe Event Information: Abstract:  The first direct detection of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding black holes 10 years ago opened a new window to the high energy universe.  Since 2015 the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA international gravitational-wave detector network has observed hundreds of events, mostly pairs of black holes but also binary neutron star mergers as well as neutron star - black hole collisions.  The information revealed in these detections is changing our understanding of the Universe. This talk will cover the fundamentals of gravitational-wave detection, present recent highlights from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing runs, and discuss what they reveal about the cosmos.  We'll also look at the future generation of gravitational-wave observatories being planned for the next decade that are being designed to probe the entirety of the Universe.   Bio:    David Reitze is the Executive Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory at Caltech and Research Professor at the California Institute of Technology. Prior to that, he spent almost 20 years on the faculty of the University of Florida in the Physics Department. His research focuses on the development of ultrasensitive gravitational-wave detectors and gravitational-wave astronomy. Reitze was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Optica, and the American Association of the Advancement of Science. He currently serves on the National Academies Board on Physics and Astronomy in addition to the AURA Board of Directors. Learn More:  From David's LIGO/CALTECH professional page: David H. Reitze | Director, LIGO Lab About his publications: ‪David Reitze‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬ From Caltech article, "New LIGO executive Director Named": New LIGO Executive Director Named - www.caltech.edu Resources: LIGO Lab: LIGO Lab | Caltech | MIT American Physical Society: American Physical Society Optica: Home | Optica American Association of the Advancement of Science: AAAS Home | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) National Academies Board on Physics & Astronomy: nationalacademies.org/bpa/board-on-physics-and-astronomy AURA: Home - AURA Astronomy   Event Location: HENN 201