LISA tagged posts

The first-time detection of Gravitational Waves (GW) by researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 triggered a revolution in astronomy. This phenomenon consists of ripples in spacetime caused by the merger of massive objects and was predicted a century prior by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. In the coming years, this burgeoning field will advance considerably thanks to the introduction of next-generation observatories, like the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).

With greater sensitivity, astronomers will be able to trace GW events back to their source and use them to probe the interiors of exotic objects and the laws of physics...

Visualization of the gravitational wave emission from a pair of orbiting compact objects. Credit: NASA

Next-generation gravitational wave detector in space will complement LIGO on Earth. The historic first detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes far outside our galaxy opened a new window to understanding the universe. A string of detections – 4 more binary black holes and a pair of neutron stars – soon followed the Sept. 14, 2015, observation. Now, another detector is being built. LISA is expected to be in space in 2034, and it will be sensitive to gravitational waves of a lower frequency than those detected by the Earth-bound Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

A new Northwestern University study predicts dozens of binaries (pairs of orbiting co...

Hubble Space Telescope image of supernova 1994D in galaxy NGC 4526 © NASA/ESA

A new math model details a way that dead stars called white dwarfs could detonate, producing a type of explosion that is instrumental to measuring the extreme distances in our universe. The mechanism, described in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, could improve our understanding of how Type Ia supernovae form. “Type Ia supernovae are extremely important objects in physics, best known for their role in revealing that the expansion of the universe is accelerating,” said Prof. Saavik Ford. “The problem is that people do not agree on exactly how Type Ia supernovae come to be.”

Current research indicates that Type Ia supernova explosions originate from binary star systems – two stars orbiting one...