Séminaire / Seminar GReCO |
| « Observing the Universe with a Galactic-scale detector: astrophysics of massive black holes with pulsar timing arrays » |
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Alberto Sesana |
| Millisecond pulsars are the most stable clocks in Nature. Timing measurement of multiple pulsars (forming a Galactic-scale array) can be combined to unveil low frequency gravitational waves of astrophysical and cosmological origin. In particular, massive black hole binaries are expected to produce a signal possibly detectable in the coming years. I will describe the principles of gravitational wave observation with pulsar timing, the astrophysical properties of the detectable sources, the worldwide effort put by the astronomical community in the field, and the scientific payouts. In the coming years, the very first direct observation of a gravitational wave detection might come from these nHz-band Galactic-scale detectors. |
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lundi 15 octobre 2012 - 11:00 Salle des séminaires François Arago Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris |
| Pages web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage |