Detecting and analyzing the information carried by gravitational waves is allowing us to observe the Universe in a way never before possible, providing astronomers and other scientists with their first glimpses of un-seeable wonders..
Though LIGO's mission is to detect gravitational waves from some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe, the data LIGO collects may also contribute to other areas of physics such as gravitation, relativity, cosmology, astrophysics, particle physics, and nuclear physics..
The gravitational waves as we understand them are going to bring us very different kinds of information about the universe that you could never see with electromagnetic waves.
This timeline of the universe over 13.8 billion years, with stars emerging about 180 million years after the Big Bang..
When the existence of gravitational waves was confirmed in 2016, a new field of astrophysical research opened up.
Two black holes collided, sending out a ripple in the fabric of space-time that was detected on Earth when it caused a blip in the sensitive instruments of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
Astrophysics, gravitation, and cosmology research has made critical contributions to our understanding of physical principles and continues to reveal new insights into fundamental physics and our place in the universe.
What are we doing in Astrophysics, Relativity and Cosmology research at Illinois? .
The advent of gravitational-wave astronomy and of very long-baseline interferometry is now providing data that allows us to probe the gravitational interactions in regimes which were thought to be impossible to observe.
Vitor's research is focused on gravity, specially strong-field gravity.
