02/12/2024
By Joanne Gagnon-Ketchen
Shane L. Larson, CIERA/Northwestern University, Department of Physics & Astronomy will give a talk on "Probing the stellar graveyard with low-frequency gravitational waves."
Abstract: In the next decade, the space-based LISA observatory will begin observations in the low-frequency part of the gravitational-wave spectrum, increasing the number of known sources in the gravitational-wave catalog by several orders of magnitude. Among those sources will be thousands of multi-messenger systems that astronomers can mine for information about the Universe. In this talk, we will introduce the LISA observatory and consider the ultra-compact binary population of the Milky Way. We'll discuss the power of combining both gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations, and give several vignettes of how the two observational mediums may be used in concert to probe a variety of astrophysical phenomena in the stellar graveyard.
Bio: Shane Larson is a research professor of physics at Northwestern University, where he is the Associate Director of CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics). He works in the field of gravitational wave astrophysics, specializing in studies of compact stars, binaries, and the galaxy with both the ground-based LIGO project, and future space-based observatory LISA. He currently serves on the NASA LISA Study Team, is a member of the board of the LISA Consortium, and is the co-chair of the LISA Astrophysics Working Group. He grew up in Eastern Oregon, and was formerly a tenured associate professor of physics at Utah State University. He is an award winning teacher, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He contributes regularly to a public science blog at writescience.wordpress.com, and tweets with the handle @sciencejedi.