IIHE invited seminar: First Observation of a Neutron Star Merger with Gravitational Waves and Gamma Rays
by
Kevin Meagher(ULB)
→
Europe/Brussels
Jean Sacton Seminar room (1G003) (IIHE, VUB)
Jean Sacton Seminar room (1G003)
IIHE, VUB
Description
abstract: On 17 August 2017, the LIGO and Virgo Gravitational wave detectors observed the merger of two neutron stars in coincidence with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space telescope observation of a gamma-ray burst. This is the first simultaneous detection of a gravitational and electromagnetic waves and a significant milestone for multimessenger astronomy. A Campaign to locate the event in the optical band resulted in the discovery of a kilonova event being observed in coincidence. A review of the physics of gravitational waves and gamma-ray bursts will be given as well as a description of this discovery and scientific implications.
