Astronomy & Space Sciences
Title : | Probing the Universe in disparate gravitational-wave frequency spectrum |
Area of research : | Astronomy & Space Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Prof. Subramaniam Shankaranarayanan, Indian Institute Of Technology Bombay (IITB), Maharashtra |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | shanki@phy.iitb.ac.in |
Equipments : | Desktop/ Laptop |
Details
Executive Summary : | LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA has detected close to 100 gravitational wave (GW) sources. GW signals emanating from a black hole or neutron star binaries have opened many new research avenues in astronomy, cosmology, and fundamental physics. Gravity's most extreme, non-linear regime can be tested in novel ways. The planned third-generation ground-based detector (Cosmic Explorer and the Einstein Telescope) will allow us to peer far deeper, and LISA will open a new observational window at low frequencies. The gravitational radiation emitted by compact binary systems in these two frequency windows --- $10^{-4} - 10^{4}$~Hz ---encodes important information on their astrophysical formation mechanism. Like electromagnetic (EM) waves, GWs can be generated in various frequency ranges --- the GW frequency is inversely proportional to the radius of the object. Thus, the smaller the object size, the larger the frequency of the GW. Like different EM frequency spectrum, detecting GW in different frequencies, we will be able to view the Universe differently and understand different phenomena. In other words, GWs in different frequencies will offer a \emph{disparate view of the Universe}. This leads to the following questions: If a certain astrophysical mechanism generates GWs in high frequency, how can we detect them directly or indirectly? If we can not detect them directly, are there astrophysical phenomena that already indicate that these waves exist? The proposed project will improve our understanding of the GW frequency spectrum using a two-pronged approach. First, we will develop tools to detect high-frequency GWs indirectly. Second, explore which extensions to General Relativity can lead to observational signatures in the third generation GW detectors. |
Total Budget (INR): | 29,77,436 |
Organizations involved