Events Calendar

"The Discovery, Follow-up, and Implications of Electromagnetic Counterparts to Gravitational Wave Sources" by Maria Drout, Ph.D., Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto

Abstract:  On August 17th, 2017, the field of multi-messenger, gravitational wave, astronomy was born.  On this date, Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observed gravitational waves from the coalescence of a neutron star binary with a false alarm probability of 1 per 10000 years and counterparts were subsequently identified across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.  In April 2019, LIGO/Virgo Observing Run 3 will commence, with the expectation of many more multi-messenger detections.  In this talk, I will give a broad review of the electromagnetic emission associated with the binary neutron star merger, GW170817, and implication of these observations on our understanding of the ejecta from neutron star mergers and the origin of r-process elements I will give prospects for LIGO/Virgo 03 and how the identification of a population of electromagnetic counterparts will allow us to address scientific questions ranging from the neutron star equation and the expansion of the universe to the total contribution of compact objects mergers to cosmic nucleosynthesis.On August 17th, 2017, the field of multi-messenger, gravitational wave, astronomy was born.  On this date, Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observed gravitational waves from the coalescence of a neutron star binary with a false alarm probability of 1 per 10000 years and counterparts were subsequently identified across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.  In April 2019, LIGO/Virgo Observing Run 3 will commence, with the expectation of many more multi-messenger detections.  In this talk, I will give a broad review of the electromagnetic emission associated with the binary neutron star merger, GW170817, and implication of these observations on our understanding of the ejecta from neutron star mergers and the origin of r-process elements I will give prospects for LIGO/Virgo 03 and how the identification of a population of electromagnetic counterparts will allow us to address scientific questions ranging from the neutron star equation and the expansion of the universe to the total contribution of compact objects mergers to cosmic nucleosynthesis.