The landmark 2015 breakthrough captured the signal of two massive black holes colliding 1.3 billion years ago, confirming Einstein’s theory and opening a new window on the universe.
The detection, made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States, involved hundreds of researchers across the globe, including key contributions from the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Dr Carl Blair, from UWA’s School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing and director of the Gingin High Optical Power Facility, said the field had expanded rapidly since that first signal.
“Since 2015, more than 300 events have been detected by international teams, including merging pairs of neutron stars and neutron stars being consumed by black holes. These discoveries have effectively given humanity gravitational-wave ‘ears’ on the universe, letting us uncover mysteries like the origins of gold” Blair said.
Blair, who was at LIGO in Louisiana during the first detection, will chair a panel discussion as part of the anniversary event.
The line-up includes:
- Professor Linqing Wen, leader of UWA’s Gravitational Wave Astronomy group, whose research spans astrophysics, real-time detection, multi-messenger astronomy and machine learning applications.
- Dr Fiona Panther, Forrest Fellow, who studies multi-messenger astronomy and will showcase the role of the Zadko Telescope in observing light from colliding neutron stars.
- Dr Liu Jian, Research Fellow, who is developing technology for the next generation of gravitational-wave detectors.
The panel will explore how the discoveries unfolded, UWA’s role in advancing the science and the vision for establishing an Australian gravitational-wave observatory. The session will conclude with a Q&A open to the audience.
PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers will also share their latest findings – including new results being unveiled to coincide with the anniversary – and outline the frontiers of the next decade of gravitational-wave research.
“It’s amazing to see the work we’ve put into developing detectors translate into brand new discoveries,” PhD student Koh Baker said.