Please join us for a talk with Timothy Dolch, Cornell University, entitled:
Pulsars as Gravitational Wave Detectors: A Radio and Optical View
On Tuesday, March 17 at 12:10 in CNS 206B
The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) searches for gravitational waves. Gravitational waves (GWs) are waves in space-time emanating from, for example, distant supermassive black hole binary mergers. Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts the existence of GWs, but they have not been directly detected yet. Nearer, within our own Milky Way galaxy, reside many pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars that produce pulsed radio emission. Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) spin at nearly 1000 times/second. NANOGrav conducts long-term observations of 42 MSPs with the world’s two largest single-dish radio telescopes: Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The line-of-sight to each pulsar acts as a detector arm for measuring small distance changes due to GWs. Limits on the maximum possible undetected GW amplitude have been produced based on the first five years of timing data. I first report on a 24-hr, nine-telescope observing campaign on pulsar J1713+0747 (Dolch et al. 2014) undertaken in order to establish the ultimate timing precision of MSPs, as well as to produce non-detection limits at higher GW frequencies than those usually studied by pulsar timing. I then report on recent and upcoming observations of optical bow-shock nebula around radio pulsars, such as the Guitar Nebula. These data can also lead to a better understanding of MSP timing precision. Improved timing precision helps our chances of detecting GWs.
Pizza and Refreshments will be available for $1.
Please bring your own cup.
Remember to Recycle, Reuse, Reduce
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact the department assistant at jackerman@ithaca.edu.. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20150312115240318