UNC Physics Special Colloquium

Kris Pardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

“Cosmology with Gravitational Waves and Gravitational Waves with Cosmology Data”

Gravitational waves offer us a whole new way of looking at our Universe. LIGO’s observations within the ~10-100 Hz range have taught us about fundamental properties of gravity, as well as populations of stellar mass black holes. Lower frequency gravitational waves are expected to be detected within the next two decades. This promises even more tests of fundamental physics and a better understanding of massive and supermassive black holes. In this talk, I will give an overview of the gravitational wave spectrum, discuss my contributions to using gravitational waves as a cosmological probe, and detail one way to bridge a gap in the gravitational wave frequency spectrum using upcoming photometric surveys. Finally, I will discuss plans to use space-based atom interferometers to detect gravitational waves in the last open part of the spectrum.

Lecture will also be available via Zoom: https://unc.zoom.us/j/94135079963?pwd=blJXa2hXV1hWeWJobmtoalBhMWEwdz09