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Over the past five years, astronomy has been revolutionized as scientists have used ripples in the fabric of spacetime, called gravitational waves, to reveal the secrets of the previously hidden world of black holes. Gravitational waves are created when two black holes merge in a cataclysmic release of energy, but until now there were few clues as to how and why black holes merge.
Today, researchers from LIGO and Virgo Collaborations announced a series of discoveries that provide some of the earliest clues to the origin of black hole mergers. Monash University researchers – members of the ARC Center of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) – helped lead the effort.
“We are announcing the discovery of 44 confirmed black hole mergers, which represents a more than fourfold increase in the number of previously known gravitational wave signals,” explains Shanika Galaudage, a PhD student at Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy who helped write one. of the new LIGO items.
“With so many black holes to study, we can begin to answer profound questions about how these systems came together,” says Ms. Galaudage.
A key clue comes from the fact that black holes rotate. The orientation of the black hole’s spins affects the gravitational wave signal.
The author of the study, Dr. Colm Talbot, also of the School of Physics and Astronomy, says: “There are two theories on how two black holes can come together. Sometimes, pairs of stars called binaries create pairs of black holes that merge, creating ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves. Alternatively, two black holes can stumble into each other. “
The verdict? “There seem to be many ways two black holes can come together,” says Eric Thrane, chief investigator professor at OzGrav, of Monash University.
“Some binary black holes arise from pairs of stars. Others roam the cosmos before finding a partner to merge with. In any case, an enormous amount of energy is released in the gravitational waves. “
/ Public release.
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