Ultracompact Binaries as gravitational wave sources
by
Paul Groot(Nijmegen, NL)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FB55
FB55
Description
With the current upgrade of the Virgo and LIGO laser-interferometer
systems and the selection of 'the Gravitational Universe' as the topic
of the ESA L3 mission (i.e. the eLISA satellite), the dawn of
gravitational wave astrophysics is coming very close. First detections
are expected in 2017. The main source population for gravitational
waves in both Virgo/LIGO as well as with eLISA are (merging)
ultracompact binaries consisting of two stellar remnants (white dwarfs,
neutron stars and black holes). In the talk I will review our knowledge
on these ultracompact binaries from research done over the last decade
and also highlight the current and future efforts to most effectively
combine the information from gravitational wave detectors with
numerical simulations and from astronomical telescopes using
electromagnetic radiation, in particular the BlackGEM array.