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The Detection of Gravitational Waves

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Gravity: Where Do We Stand?

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Abstract

The detection of gravitational waves is challenging researchers since half a century. The relative precision required, \(10^{-21}\), is difficult to imagine, this is \(10^{-5}\) the diameter of a proton over several kilometres, using masses of tens of kilograms, or picometres over millions of kilometres. A theoretical description of gravitational radiation and its effects on matter, all consequence of the general theory of relativity, is given. Then the astrophysical phenomena that are candidates of gravitational wave emission are discussed, considering also amplitudes and rates. The binary neutron star system PSR1913\(+\)16, which provided the first evidence for energy loss by gravitational radiation in 1975, is briefly discussed. Then comes a description of the experimental developments, starting with ground-based interferometers, their working principles and their most important sources of noise. The earth-wide network that is being built describes how these instruments will be used in the observation era. Several other detection techniques, such as space interferometry, pulsar timing arrays and resonant detectors, covering different bands of the gravitational wave frequency spectrum complete these lectures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Enrico Fermi” Physics Dept., University of Pisa and INFN, L.go Bruno Pontecorvo 3, 56127, Pisa, Italy

    Francesco Fidecaro

  2. INFN-Sezione di Pisa, L.go Bruno Pontecorvo 3, 56127, Pisa, Italy

    Stefano Braccini

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  1. Stefano Braccini
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Roma, Italy

    Roberto Peron

  2. Dipartimento di Fisica G. Occhialini, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy

    Monica Colpi

  3. Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, Como, Italy

    Vittorio Gorini

  4. Dipartimento di Scienza e Alta Tecnologia, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, Como, Italy

    Ugo Moschella

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Braccini, S., Fidecaro, F. (2016). The Detection of Gravitational Waves. In: Peron, R., Colpi, M., Gorini, V., Moschella, U. (eds) Gravity: Where Do We Stand?. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20224-2_7

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