Gravitational waves as a research area encompass the theoretical modeling, detection, and astrophysical interpretation of ripples in spacetime predicted by general relativity and alternative gravity theories. This field integrates general relativity, numerical relativity, data analysis, and experimental physics to study compact object mergers, core-collapse supernovae, cosmological backgrounds, and potential beyond–standard-model phenomena. Research focuses on waveform modeling, parameter estimation, tests of gravity in the strong-field regime, and multi-messenger astronomy combining electromagnetic and neutrino signals. It also drives the development and operation of ground- and space-based interferometric observatories, pulsar timing arrays, and analysis pipelines for weak, transient, and stochastic signals.
Neutron star mergers are collisions between neutron stars, the collapsed cores of what were once massive supergiant stars. These mergers are known to generate gravitational waves, energy-carrying waves propagating through ...
Extreme cosmic events such as colliding black holes or the explosions of stars can cause ripples in spacetime, so-called gravitational waves. Their discovery opened a new window into the universe. To observe them, ultra-precise ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2025
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Up until recently, astronomy was reliant entirely on electromagnetic waves. While that changed with the confirmation of gravitational waves in 2016, astronomers had developed fundamental frameworks in the electromagnetic ...
Astronomy
Apr 9, 2025
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From 2035, the Einstein Telescope will be able to study gravitational waves with unprecedented accuracy. For the telescope, researchers from Jena have manufactured highly sensitive sensors made entirely of glass for the first ...
Astronomy
Mar 12, 2025
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Binary neutron star mergers occur millions of light-years away from Earth. Interpreting the gravitational waves they produce presents a major challenge for traditional data-analysis methods. These signals correspond to minutes ...
Astronomy
Mar 5, 2025
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In a paper published earlier this month in Physical Review Letters, a team of physicists led by Jonathan Richardson of the University of California, Riverside, showcases how new optical technology can extend the detection ...
General Physics
Feb 14, 2025
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Scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt have identified a new way to probe the interior of neutron stars using gravitational waves from their collisions. By analyzing the "long ringdown" phase—a pure-tone signal emitted ...
Astronomy
Feb 6, 2025
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Finding patterns and reducing noise in large, complex datasets generated by the gravitational wave-detecting LIGO facility just got easier, thanks to the work of scientists at the University of California, Riverside.
Astronomy
Jan 30, 2025
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When astronomers detected the first long-predicted gravitational waves in 2015, it opened a whole new window into the universe. Before that, astronomy depended on observations of light in all its wavelengths.
Space Exploration
Jan 30, 2025
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In an article published in Physical Review Letters on Thursday, scientists carried out an innovative study testing the existence of mirror asymmetries in our universe by studying the handedness of the gravitational-wave emission ...
Astronomy
Jan 23, 2025
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