Date/Time
Date(s) - 25/01/2012
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: Black holes, supercomputers and gravitational waves

Speaker: Dr. Harold Pffeiffer – CITA

Institute: University of Toronto – Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Einstein’s theory of general relativity makes several
astonishing predictions. Among them are black holes, regions of
space-time with such high warpage that not even light can escape, and
gravitational waves, perturbations of space-time itself which travel
at the speed of light. Binary black holes generate copious amount of
gravity waves, so their study sheds light of both aspects of general
relativity.

The last few years have been transformative for the study of
binary black holes. Numerical simulations have matured, making it
possible to predict the outcome of the inspiral and merger of two
black holes. Gravitational wave detectors are in operation, and with
second generation facilities, direct detection of gravitational waves
is a distinct possibility. This talk will explore all these topics,
using numerical simulations of binary black holes as the unifying
theme.