A new message from the gravitational wave universe
Gravitational waves are intensity waves of gravity that are created due to the acceleration of massive bodies such as neutron stars and black holes. First predicted more than 100 years ago, several experiments provided the proof for their existence in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In this talk I will give an overview of the most recent results of the search for gravitational waves using a timing array of pulsars (rapidly spinning and highly magnetized neutron stars). An emphasis will be made on the results of the North American Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), an experiment that focuses on the detection of nanohertz gravitational waves. Prioritizing a different part of their spectrum, NANOGrav is searching for new sources of gravitational waves in our Universe.
Bio
Dr. Natalia Lewandowska is the Planetarium Director and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego.