UF assists in major astronomical discovery

After helping Nobel Prize in Physics-winning scientists discover gravitational waves, UF’s design helped observe a newly observed gravitational wave.

LIGO, or Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a laboratory made up of scientists from different institutions working to observe gravitational waves. UF created the LIGO program’s lenses and developed an algorithm for data analyzation, according to Alligator archives.

About two months ago, LIGO detected the merging of two neutron stars, said David Reitze, the executive director of the LIGO laboratory. This was the first time an event that produced observed gravitational waves also produced something visual – light.

Reitze said the waves produced by the neutron stars are different from those produced by black holes merging, which was observed four times.

If the calm surface of a lake was outer space and someone threw a brick into the water, the crash would send ripples along the surface of the lake, Reitz said. In a similar way, when two massive objects orbit, such as black holes or neutron stars, they eventually collide, like the brick and the lake, and produce gravitational waves, he said.

Roughly four hours after LIGO detected the neutron star collision, scientists confirmed the event and could identify where it occurred in the sky, he said. Astronomers, who received LIGO’s information, reported the first confirmed observation of light with the collision.

“This event was the most intensive observation event in the history of astronomy,” Reitze said.

Simon Barke, a UF researcher, works with the LISA lab, which will send equipment into space for observation.

Barke said if it weren’t for LIGO, no one would have noticed the collision of neutron stars had taken place.

Powerful telescopes dropped what they were doing to look at the spot in the sky highlighted by LIGO, Barke said. Even the Hubble telescope was redirected from its orbit to view the light emitted from the event, he said. Barke said eventually these detectors will become more sensitive, and will observe similar collisions nearly every day.

“Telescopes will have to decide where (and at what) to look,” Barke said.

The discoveries made by LIGO can have important applications that can greatly affect people on Earth, Barke said.

Using lasers to take ultra-precise measurements of distances, for example, was inspired by the technology LIGO uses to detect gravitational waves, Barke said.

Barke said because LIGO is working with scientists from across the globe and is sharing information freely, it is playing an important part in building a scientific community.

Reitz said UF was essential to the discovery, which made waves across the scientific community.

“It’s a combination of feeling stunned and relieved,” Reitze said. “A combination of ‘wow,’ and relief and satisfaction that we built these detectors that work.”