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The missing link: how short gamma-ray bursts gain their jet |
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Gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful explosions in the Universe, releasing in few seconds the same amount of energy that our entire Galaxy releases in one year. Because of the huge difficulties in observing it directly, the "central-engine", that is the ... [more]
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How neutron stars merge - first accurate calculation of the last orbits of binary systems of neutron stars |
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Simulations of inspiralling neutron stars and black holes provide insights into the possible structure of gravitational wave signals. They significantly increase the probability of identifying gravitational waves in the detector data. The article focuses on the last ... [more]
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On the deceleration behaviour of black holes |
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Kicking is not only associated with football: if two black holes approach each other so closely as to collide and merge, the resulting black hole recoils and then races through the universe at a speed of up to several thousand kilometres per second. Sometimes, ... [more]
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Accurate Evolutions of Inspiralling Neutron-Star Binaries: Prompt and Delayed Collapse to Black Hole |
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Together with black holes, neutron stars are among of the most fascinating objects in the universe. The end-result of stellar evolution and the remnant of a powerful supernova explosion, neutron stars have a mass which is slightly larger than the mass of the Sun ... [more]
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The Final Spin from the Coalescence of Aligned-Spin Black Hole Binaries |
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The coalescence of two black holes is among the strongest sources of gravitational waves. Computing and understanding the nature of these waves is crucial for observations with detectors like LIGO or GEO600.
However, apart from gravitational wave physics, black hole ... [more]
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Recoil velocities from spinning binary black-hole mergers |
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As spinning black holes orbit, inspiral, and merge, there are a number of astrophysical reasons to believe that their spins tend to align. In a series of papers, we have examined the parameter space of equal-mass binary black hole mergers in which the black hole ... [more]
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Gravitational waves from the birth of a black hole |
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Predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity, gravitational waves are ripples of the spacetime curvature propagating at the speed of light and generated by the rapid motion of large amounts of
energy-mass. Even the gravitational waves produced by the ... [more]
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GEO600 has reached a sensitivity of 2·10-22/√Hz |
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The direct detection of gravitational waves is one of the most challenging goals of today's experimental physics. Although gravitational waves emitted in catastrophical astrophysical events like the merging of two dense stars in a binary system or a super nova ... [more]
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Squeezing the quantum noise of laser light |
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Light is quantized, and the statistics of the photons results in unpredictable uncertainties of the amplitude and the phase of the light field. This inherent uncertainty results in quantum (shot) noise and limits the phase sensitivity of laser interferometers. ... [more]
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Interferometry with nano-structured optics |
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We research and develop nano-structured diffraction gratings to split and
recombine laser beams in advanced gravitational wave detectors. These
all-reflective components can replace the partly transmissive mirrors used in
today's detectors. The sensitivity ... [more]
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Characterisation and stabilisation of a high-power solid-state laser system for Advanced LIGO |
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The first direct detection of gravitational waves will mark the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy, opening a new window to the universe. The necessary high detection sensitivity calls for ultra-stable high-power lasers with outstanding beam quality. The AEI ... [more]
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Evolutions of "puncture" binary black holes using Carpet mesh refinement |
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In this paper [1] , we performed an evolution of an equal mass binary black hole system, for more than one and a half orbits. Evolutions were carried out in a co-rotating frame, using mesh refinement to attain the required high resolutions of the simulations. For ... [more]
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Boosting Mechanism for Relativistic Jets |
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Velocities close to the speed of light are a robust observational
property of the jets observed in microquasars and AGNs, and are expected
to be behind much of the phenomenology of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Yet,
the mechanism boosting relativistic jets to such ... [more]
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Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in Black Hole Binaries |
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Recent observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)
have revealed the existence of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations
(QPOs) in a number of accreting black hole binary systems. In an
increasing number of these systems, the QPOs appear with ... [more]
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Binary Black Hole Evolutions with Mesh Refinement |
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The problem of modelling black hole mergers is one of many length
scales, from the tiny distances within the horizons and around the
singularities, to the far away regions where the spacetime is
essentially flat with small perturbations. Modelling such systems ... [more]
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Proof of the Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis in a Key Special Case |
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In the 1960's Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking proved the singularity
theorems, showing that general relativity reveals the limits of its
own validity. Under general circumstances solutions of the Einstein
equations contain singularities, where the structure of space ... [more]
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First Observational Results of GEO600 and LIGO |
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The LIGO and GEO detectors have come online and have performed their first science runs. The data from the four detectors is analysed jointly by teams of scientists based in Germany, UK, and the US [1-5] . The AEI leads the efforts to search for gravitational wave ... [more]
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Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) |
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All of modern physics is based on General Relativity (GR) and Quantum Theory (QT). GR is a geometrical interpretation of gravity as curvature of space and time. QT removes the determinism from classical physics; it is only possible to calculate probabilities for the ... [more]
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Integrable Spin Chains and the Theory of Superstrings |
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics are currently working hard on the development of a novel approach to gauge field theories and strings. The first class of theories form the cornerstone of our mathematical understanding of the standard ... [more]
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GEO600 - the First Gravitational Wave Detector with Dual Recycling |
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All the large interferometric gravitational wave detectors use power recycling in order to enhance the circulating light power. In GEO600 an advanced optical layout is used including a novel design of suspensions for reducing thermal noise effects and including ... [more]
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Heterodyne Interferometer with Phasemeter for LISA |
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The LISA Technology Package (LTP) is a technology demonstration mission in preparation for the LISA space-borne gravitational wave detector. A central part of the LTP is the optical metrology package (heterodyne interferometer with phasemeter) which monitors the ... [more]
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