Listening to the Universe with Gravitational-Wave Astronomy

Abstract

The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of gravitational-wave observatories, with other members in Europe, Japan, and -- hopefully -- Australia. Plans are rapidly maturing for a low frequency, space-based gravitational-wave observatory: LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, to be launched around 2011. The goal of these instruments is to inaugurate the field of {\it gravitational-wave astronomy}: using gravitational-waves as a means of listening to highly relativistic dynamical processes in astrophysics. This review discusses the promise of this field, outlining why gravitational waves are worth pursuing, and what they are uniquely suited to teach us about astrophysical phenomena. We review the current state of the field, both theoretical and experimental, and then highlight some aspects of gravitational-wave science that are particularly exciting (at least to this author).

46 pages, 7 figures, invited review to appear in Annals of Physics. Added some additional references

References in corpus (3)

• Tracing Black Hole Mergers Through Radio Lobe Morphology
• Nonlinear r-Modes in Neutron Stars: Instability of an unstable mode
• Tuning gravitational-wave detector networks to measure compact binary mergers

Cited by in corpus (46)

• Using gravitational-wave standard sirens
• A Compact Supermassive Binary Black Hole System
• The basics of gravitational wave theory
• Stellar remnants in galactic nuclei: mass segregation
• Efficient Merger of Binary Supermassive Black Holes in Merging Galaxies
• The Spectrum of Gravitational Radiation from Primordial Turbulence
• Parameter estimation of inspiralling compact binaries using 3.5 post-Newtonian gravitational wave phasing: The non-spinning case
• Towards a formalism for mapping the spacetimes of massive compact objects: Bumpy black holes and their orbits
• Ergoregion instability of ultra-compact astrophysical objects
• Supermassive Black Hole Binary Evolution in Axisymmetric Galaxies: the final parsec problem is not a problem
• Binary Encounters With Supermassive Black Holes: Zero-Eccentricity LISA Events
• Discriminating between a Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background and Instrument Noise
• Stellar Dynamics of Extreme-Mass-Ratio Inspirals
• Dynamical Friction around Supermassive Black Holes
• Geometric Time Delay Interferometry
• Mergers of Unequal Mass Galaxies: Supermassive Black Hole Binary Evolution and Structure of Merger Remnants
• The Gravitational-Wave Physics II: Progress
• Highly Damped Quasinormal Modes of Kerr Black Holes: A Complete Numerical Investigation
• Dynamics of galaxy cores and supermassive black holes
• Mode coupling in the nonlinear response of black holes
• Summation by parts and dissipation for domains with excised regions
• Scattering of Sound Waves by a Canonical Acoustic Hole
• Gravitational wave emission from binary supermassive black holes
• Short wavelength electromagnetic propagation in magnetized quantum plasmas
• Fundamental physics and cosmology with LISA
• Components of the gravitational force in the field of a gravitational wave
• Limits on the speed of gravitational waves from pulsar timing
• Probing the interior of neutron stars with gravitational waves
• Echoing the extra dimension
• Radiation Reaction in Schwarzschild Spacetime: Retarded Green's Function via Hadamard-WKB Expansion
• Wave effect in gravitational lensing by a cosmic string
• Perturbative Analysis of Universality and Individuality in Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars
• The observed number counts in luminosity distance space
• Short wavelength quantum electrodynamical correction to cold plasma-wave propagation
• Self-force on a scalar charge in radial infall from rest using the Hadamard-WKB expansion
• Periodicity in the continua and broad line curves of a quasar E1821+643
• Determination of the internal structure of neutron stars from gravitational wave spectra
• High-frequency behavior of w-mode pulsations of compact stars
• Generalised Inverse-Cowling Approximation for Polar $w$-mode Oscillations of Neutron Stars
• The surfing effect in the interaction of electromagnetic and gravitational waves. Limits on the speed of gravitational waves
• Interpreting gravitational-wave burst detections: constraining source properties without astrophysical models
• Gravitational wave science with laser interferometers and pulsar timing
• The Stellar Orbital Structure in Axisymmetric Galaxy Models with Supermassive Black Hole Binaries
• First-Order Perturbative Hamiltonian Equations of Motion for a Point Particle Orbiting a Schwarzschild Black Hole
• Separation of spacetime and matter in polar oscillations of compact stars
• Absorption and scattering of massless scalar waves by Frolov black holes