Jialun Luo’s Comps Presentation
Wednesday, April 6th
3:10 pm in Olin 141
A study of General Relativity and Gravitational Waves
Gravitational waves are variations or “ripples” of the curvature of spacetime caused by energetic processes in the universe. Although their existence has been predicted and indirectly verified for decades, only until recently did LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) directly observe them for the first time. The difficulty of detecting gravitational waves lies in the abundance of environmental noises and the faintness of gravitational waves. In this presentation, I will introduce necessary background of the theory of relativity. Then,I will discuss the principles of detecting gravitational waves and the recent detection by LIGO. In particular, I will talk about the physics of laser interferometer, how it reacts to gravitational waves, and what improvements physicists and engineers have made to increase the sensitivity of LIGO instruments. Finally, we will look at the recent detection made in September 2015.