Joint LLC Seminar with Karsten Danzmann

Karsten Danzmann from Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik and Institut für Gravitationsphysik der Leibniz Universität Hannover will tell us about 

Gravitational Wave Astronomy: We can hear the dark universe with laser interferometers!

“Fika” (coffee and cake) will be served before the meeting, from 15:00.

Abstract:

We have been looking at the universe with our eyes for thousands of years. But
over 99% of the universe is dark and will never be observed with electromagnetic
waves. Since September 14, 2015, everything has changed: gravitational waves have
been discovered! We have been given a new sense and can finally hear the dark side of
the universe.
Several km-size laser interferometers are now operating on the earth, using
sensitivities at the quantum limit and also beyond the standard quantum limit. Our
lasers from Hannover are now the workhorse of most laser observatories in the
world.
The first sounds we heard came from completely unexpectedly heavy black holes.
Gravitational waves have now become a new kind of astronomy. Hundreds of such
events are now recorded almost daily, with frequencies ranging from a few hertz to a
few kHz. And in 2035 we will also be able to observe the low-frequency sources with
LISA, a laser interferometric observatory with millions of km of arm length in the
mHz range. Nobody knows what other dark secrets are still waiting for us out there.