Western Kentucky University
Department of Physics and Astronomy

Colloquium

Dr. Nihan Pol

NANOGrav
Oregon State University

"A new window into the gravitational wave universe"

April 01, 2024 @ 4:00 pm in KTH 2038 (Zoom ID: 93595838321)

Abstract

In June, 2023, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), along with our colleagues in the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), announced evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave background at nanohertz frequencies. This marked the first time that we have observed gravitational waves outside of the frequency range accessible to ground-based gravitational wave detectors, thus opening a new window into our Universe. In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to pulsar timing arrays and the gravitational wave sources at nanohertz frequencies, followed by a description of the latest results from NANOGrav and the IPTA. I will end by discussing the possible sources of this gravitational wave background and a look ahead to the next few years in nanohertz gravitational wave astronomy.