On June 15, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration (which includes Montclair State University Assistant Professor of Physics Marc Favata) once again made scientific history when they announced the second detection of gravitational waves by the twin LIGO detectors on December 26, 2015.<\/p>\n
Favata and recent Montclair State University graduate Blake Moore \u2013 listed as co-authors on the group\u2019s first discovery paper in January, 2016 \u2013 will once again appear as co-authors on the second paper.<\/p>\n
The gravitational waves were detected by both LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The waves from the second event were produced by the inspiral of two black holes \u2013 14 and 8 times the mass of the sun, respectively \u2013 which merged to produce a single, spinning black hole that is 21 times the mass of the sun. This discovery further confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein\u2019s 1915 general theory of relativity and continues to allow exploration of an unprecedented new window into the cosmos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second direct detection of gravitational waves is an important confirmation of LIGO\u2019s ability to deliver on the science it has promised,\u201d said Favata. \u201cIt is from a black hole pair with smaller total mass than the first detection. For this system, LIGO \u2018hears\u2019 a longer duration signal that reaches to higher frequencies than the first.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exciting because LIGO is starting to probe the population of stellar-mass black holes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gravitational waves were detected at 10:38pm Eastern Time on December 25, 2015 (3:38am Coordinated Universal Time). The LIGO detectors<\/a> are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and MIT. The discovery, accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters<\/em>, was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (which includes the GEO Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.<\/p>\n In addition to technical studies on gravitational-wave emission, the Montclair State University LIGO group \u2013 of which both Favata and Moore are members \u2013 engages in several education and public outreach activities on behalf of the LIGO collaboration. The group has been involved in the preparation of multimedia materials related to the recent discoveries, including the development of a website, <\/a>soundsofspacetime.org<\/a>, that lets visitors explore the analogy between gravitational waves and sound waves and includes pages devoted to the recent detections. <\/p>\n \u201cLIGO is breaking into its role as a new kind of astronomical observatory – a \u2018microphone\u2019 that hears distant waves of gravity emitted by dark parts of the universe. It\u2019s very gratifying that Montclair State\u2019s physics program and students are able to participate in this cutting-edge science.\u201d<\/p>\n Click here to view California Institute of Technology’s official press release on the second detection<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to view additional media on the discovery<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to view a YouTube video of the two black holes colliding<\/a><\/p>\n