Unit GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
- Course
- Physics
- Study-unit Code
- A001121
- Location
- PERUGIA
- Curriculum
- Fisica teorica
- Teacher
- Mateusz Bawaj
- Teachers
-
- Mateusz Bawaj
- Giuseppe Greco
- Sara Cutini
- Hours
- 14 ore - Mateusz Bawaj
- 14 ore - Giuseppe Greco
- 14 ore - Sara Cutini
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2021
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- FIS/03
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Multi-messenger astrophysics is a term introduced to describe the field of science which uses all types of astronomical observations for a joined data analysis in order to extract extremely precise information about Universe. Astrofisica milmulti-messaggio: dalle onde gravitazionali ai raggi gamma presents the most recent results of this field of science and the most important data analysis techniques which are involved there. Moreover the course includes a detailed description of detection techniques related to gravitational waves and electromagnetic transient candidates.
- Reference texts
- P. Saulson, Fundamentals of interferometric gravitational wave detectors, 2. ed.,World Scientific 2017
M. Maggiore, Gravitational Waves, Volume 1: Theory and experiments
M. Craig and L., Chambers, edited by L. Glattly. CCD Data reduction guide (http://www.astropy.org/ccd-reduction-and-photometry-guide/v/dev/notebooks/00-00-Preface.html)
M. Longair. High Energy Astrophysics, Third Edition 2011.
Kumar 2014, DOI: 10.1016/j.physrep.2014.09.008
Urry & Padovani 1995, DOI 10.1086/133630
Lecturers' notes - Educational objectives
- During the course, students acquire skills in the analysis of scientific information coming from the international network of large interferometers after an arrival of alert trigger. Students will learn the way how the interferometer network of Virgo, LIGO, KAGRA collaboration works and they will study the most relevant experimental techniques. The most important articles published in the scientific journals will be presented in order to strengthen students knowledge about recent scientific outcomes. Moreover, students will learn about the third generation interferometers, explicitly Einstein Telescope, big data management and its astrophysical implications.
In the second part of the course students will study high-energy astrophysics and analysis techniques of astronomical objects. After the course, the student will be able to manage and analyse scientific data from wide spectrum of galactic and extra-galactic astrophysical sources and will understand the nature of basic processes of wave emission from celestial bodies. - Prerequisites
- Knowledge about the fundamentals of the theory of General Relativity.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures supported by PowerPoint presentation and multimedia. Some arguments will be explained with the use of software scripts. Information technologies involved in the gravitational waves field will use software libraries for data analysis and other specific software pieces.
The most important arguments will be mastered with the analysis of selected scientific papers mainly from Virgo, LIGO, KAGRA and Fermi LAT collaboration. During several lectures, students will propose arguments to be analysed in detail in an interactive way. - Learning verification modality
- The exam consists in an oral examination. The examinations are designed at evaluating the student's knowledge and understanding of the topics presented during the course.
- Extended program
- Part 1 – Multi-messenger Astrophysics (14h)*:
Introduction to astrophysics and multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves:
Source localization and triggering systems. Detection rate and observation capabilities of the interferometric network. Early-Warning Alerts and source classification.
Analysis of the multi-messenger observations from the most important binary system coalescences:
Astrophysical and cosmological implications. Future interferometers of the third generation. Einstein Telescope (ET) and gravitational astronomy at cosmological scale. ET observation capabilities in the context of the space mission and ground-based telescopes.
Introduction to the analysis techniques of astronomical data in the search for the electromagnetic counterpart:
Fundamentals of spherical astronomy and photometry. Tools for sky-map generation for gravitational wave source localization. Introduction to the Virtual Observatory standards and software.
Part 2 – Gravitational Waves (14h)*:
Newtonian theory of gravity. Comparison of gravity with the other forces of nature. Inertial mass and gravitational mass. Transverse-traceless gauge and proper reference frame.
The nature of gravitational waves:
Polarization of gravitational waves. The Michelson-Morley experiment and a schematic detector of gravitational waves. Description of gravitational waves in terms of force.
Review of noise theory in measuring instruments:
Stochastic processes. Mean, variance, correlation, autocorrelation. Harmonic process. Linear transformations. Power spectrum. Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem. The signal-to-noise ratio and the problem of linear data filtering.
Gravitational wave detectors and measurement techniques:
Modulation and detection in phase. Wide band optical detectors. Michelson interferometer and Fabry-Perot cavity. Recycling of light. Opto-mechanical systems with feedback: Pound-Drever-Hall technique. Shot noise and radiation pressure reduction. The quantum limit of gravitational detectors and the strategies to overcome this limit. Future gravitational wave detectors.
Gravitational signal detection:
The problem of signal detection. Matched filter and the SEOB model.
Part 3 – Gamma-ray Bursts (14h):
Introduction to the star evolution physics with a stress on the formation processes and nucleosynthesis related to compact objects like Neutron Stars and Black Holes.
Short story of astrophysics, introduction to modern astrophysics with the use of satellite observations at various wavelengths.
Detection techniques and high energy astrophysics data analysis with a particular stress on gamma-ray and X-ray sources. Dominating electromagnetic emission mechanisms in the astrophysical sources which emit high-energy photons like: Self Synchrotron Compton, External Compton, hadronic model highlighting multi-messenger sources as blazars and GRB.
Introduction to Relativistic Beam concept. Blasar and GRB associated study of phenomenology at various wavelength from radio to TeV with highlight on binary systems and r-processes.
Fundamental properties of neutrinos: interaction types and collision radius of various processes, neutrino oscillations. Introduction to detection techniques with detector examples.
Brief history of astrophysical neutrinos: solar neutrino anomalies, neutrino oscillation discovery and the most recent measurements. Neutrinos from Supernova SN1987A. IceCube IC170922A event and the first neutrino detection from extragalactic sources.
Multi-messenger type diffuse flux (photons, cosmic rays, neutrinos), propagation of various astrophysical messengers, astrophysical neutrino production processes, expected spectrum and flavor composition.
Scientific results of IceCube experiment. Neutrino astrophysics in the multi-messenger context. New experiments and future developments.
* lectures supported by examples provided as simple software scripts in Python and JavaScript. Use of GitHub repositories for data and project exchange.