Unravelling the Gravitational-Wave Sounds of Binary Black Hole Mergers
Dr. Frank Ohme (School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff)

Merging black hole binaries emit strong gravitational-wave signals that have been theoretically modelled over decades. Now, with the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories (LIGO) in operation, we are finally starting to collect experimental data about these violent cosmic collisions. In my talk, I will present some of the key ingredients that lead to the breakthrough observation in September 2015, when LIGO made the first direct detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes, dubbed GW150914. I will show how our theoretical understanding allowed us to decipher the signal that lasted only about 200ms, and I will explain what its observation means at the dawn of a new era of gravitational-wave astronomy.