[Colloqium] Gravitational Waves: a new messenger from the universe has arrived - Michal Was (LAPP)

Tuesday 26 Apr 2016, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Paris

A gravitational wave from the merger of two black holes has been directly observed on Earth. A truly cataclysmic event that in a fraction of a second converted 3 solar masses into the energy of space time deformations. After introducing what are gravitational waves and the means of detecting, I will present the observed signal and what does it tell us about black hole mergers in particular and gravitation in general. I will also outline the prospects of the opening field of gravitational wave astronomy.