Gravitational Wave Astronomy Group
|
Hear More About...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 - American Physical Society Meeting (Anaheim, California), Xihao Deng will present a paper on: "Gravitational Wave Astronomy of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries with Pulsar Timing Arrays". |
Our MissionThe mission of the Gravitational Wave Astronomy Group is to pioneer the exploration of the universe through gravitational wave observations. Toward this end we engage in scientific research, research training of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs; advocacy of the scientific value and excitement of gravitational wave observations; and public outreach at all levels. We work collaboratively and openly with other individuals or groups, large and small, to achieve our common goals and advance our common interests. Gravitational Wave Astronomy
In the 20th century our ability to explore the heavens grew to encompass the entire electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., X-ray (2), ultra-violet (1), optical (3), infrared (5) and radio (4)). With each new way of observing we discovered new phenomena and enriched our understanding of things already observed. Gravitational wave observations (6) are the next frontier of astronomical discovery, with a potential to transform our understanding of the cosmos in a way not seen since Galileo first turned a telescope to the heavens. Our goal is to pioneer gravitational wave observations as the first 21st century tool of astronomical discovery. |
||||
HighlightsXihao DengXihao - a third-year graduate student from the People's Republic of China, joined our group just this year. His recent work, which will soon appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, provides an outstanding example of the power of gravitational wave astronomy. Gravitational waves passing between Earth and distant pulsars will disturb the arrival time of the pulsar signals. These disturbances, which might amount to no more than a few nanoseconds, are detectable because pulsars are such stable time-keepers. Recently, Xihao and Prof. Finn found that the slight curvature of the gravitational wave phasefronts when they pass between Earth and galactic pulsars, is detectable. Since the wavefront curvature is equal to the source distance, gravitational wave detected via pulsar timing can be used to measure directly the distance to gravitational wave sources at distances exceeding 100 Mpc! |
Xihao Deng
