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Detecting gravity waves from binary black holesOne of the most attractive possible sources of strong gravitational waves would be a binary system comprising massive black holes (BH). The gravitational radiation from a binary is an elliptically polarized, periodic wave which could be observed continuously - or at intervals whenever a detector was available. This continuity of the signal is certainly appealing compared to waiting for individual pulses from infrequent random events. It also has the advantage over pulses that continued observation can increase the signal-to-noise ratio almost indefinitely. Furthermore, this system is dynamically simple; the theory of the generation of the radiation is unambiguous; all characteristics of the signal can be precisely related to the dynamical parameters of the source. The current situation is that while there is no observational evidence as yet for the existence of massive binary BH, their formation is theoretically plausible, and within certain coupled constraints of mass and location, their existence cannot be observationally excluded. Detecting gravitational waves from these objects might be the first observational proof of their existence.
Document ID
19900010627
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Wahlquist, Hugo D. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1989
Publication Information
Publication: NASA, Relativistic Gravitational Experiments in Space
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
90N19943
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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