EinsteinHome Albert Einstein Institute 18 December 2006 The

Einstein@Home Albert Einstein Institute 18 December 2006 The Future of Gravitational Wave Science Bernard Schutz Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam

Detecting the waves: a long quest • Einstein knew they had to be there, but he believed they would be too weak to detect. • Joe Weber built the first detectors, then (1970) believed they were so strong that he had really detected them. • LIGO, GEO, VIRGO, TAMA started design in 1980 s, building in 1990 s, operation very recently. • Meanwhile astronomy has made lots of progress, so we know what we are looking for! Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Verifying Einstein’s theory • The first detection will verify Einstein’s theory. • We will be looking not just for the wave but for – How strong it is – How it affects the detectors (polarization) – How fast it travels (speed = c? ) Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Gravitational wave astronomy • Many of our sources are the most energetic events in the universe. Detecting and following them up is catastrophe science: rare, exciting, informative. • The effect on our detectors is tiny: the detector stretches by less than the diameter of a proton, HISSSS over a 4 -km baseline. …! • Data analysis crucial to separating real waves from local disturbances. Hello? . . . – Like listening to someone speaking to you over a noisy telephone line. – Huge computer power is needed. – Einstein@Home very important to us! Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Explosions of stars • What happens in the very center of the supernova explosion? Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Mergers of stars and black holes • Can we finally SEE black holes? Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Spinning pulsars • What do neutron stars look like? Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

The very early universe • Did inflation happen? What led to the laws of physics as we see them now? Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Data analysis • Data analysis is about listening to all of these signals at once: – Identifying type – Location on sky – Extract understanding Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute

Future: LISA Detecting waves from space • Study the early universe back to the first stars and black holes. • Measure how the acceleration of the universe has changed in the past. • LISA Pathfinder launch 2009 • LISA itself in 2015, if money permits! Bernard F Schutz Albert Einstein Institute Learn More! Einstein Online at http: //www. einstein-online. info