For the first time observed gravitational waves a hundred years after the prediction of Albert Einstein about their existence
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> It’s Official: Albert Einstein was right and finally we have the evidence. Gravitational waves, of which the scientist had theorized the existence in 1916 as an adjunct to his general theory of relativity, really exist. For the first time ever, scientists have managed to capture their signal.
ideal messenger for observing the universe, gravitational waves are ripples in space time, generated by powerful cosmic events, such as collision of a star blacks holes and neutron stars or the implosion that occurred at some point of ‘universe, away from Earth.
their detection kick off a new era in physics because it opens a window of observation so far inaccessible universe, its present and its history.
The news long-awaited by physicists around the world, was announced a few minutes ago in a crowded press conference that was held in conjunction with Washington, in Cascina Pisa in the headquarters of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO ).
the working group.
the gravitational waves were detected on 14 September at 11:51 am (Italian time) both of the LIGO interferometers laser for observation of gravitational waves in the United States in Livingston (Louisiana) and Hanford (Washington), designed and led by Caltech and dall’MIT.
The news of the discovery with data from the two interferometers was announced in an article, (signed by 1,040 scientists well) released a few minutes ago by the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, jointly by the American LIGO and consortia the European Virgo.
A double discovery because not only were detected for the first time gravitational waves, but has also been able to capture, in the same, the collision and subsequent merger of two blacks holes, a possibility already predicted but never before documented.
The event lasted two tenths of a second.
The news was greeted with enthusiasm and pride in Trento, at the Department of Physics and Tifpa (Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics Applications ), where he works a research group that for more than twenty years, is engaged in the hunt for gravitational waves and took part actively in the discovery of these days.
The team, coordinated by the experimental physicist Giovanni Andrea Prodi, includes only the portion of the data analysis, researchers of the INFN of Padova (as Gabriele Vedovato and post-doc Claudia Lazzaro) and young PhD students of Trento (Maria Concetta Tringali, Shubhunshu Tiwari and Matteo Di Giovanni).
They collaborate to also group the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover (with Marco Drago and Francis Salemi) and the University of Florida (with Sergey Klimenko). The group is also active on experimental developments to improve the sensitivity of the detectors with researchers Livia Conti and Jean Pierre Zendri (INFN Padova and graduate students Matthew Leonardi (Trento) and Marco Vardaro (Padova).
Trento, in fact, together with the colleagues from Padua and research units of Hannover and Florida, has developed an analysis algorithm (the pipeline, in technical terms), a computer program that sifts the data produced by the detectors to search for signals from unknown form: the gravitational waves.
And last September 14 after only three minutes of discovery, it was the Prodi group Hannover to certify the first data, to classify them as probable gravitational waves and to warn other scientists this important observation.
Giovanni Prodi.
a research team that has found ready at the right time to validate the observation.
the first sentry active after just a few days from the start of detection of the US LIGO interferometers activities, reacted promptly and gave the alarm to all the scientists involved in the project.
“our It has been a valuable warning signal – comments Giovanni Prodi – which has allowed us to confirm the set of detectors, avoiding to change performance characteristics.
“In a second time our algorithm was also able to certify the reading of confidence, that is to say the degree of certainty of the discovery (over 99,999%).
“The signal was compared in fact with a myriad of interference signals that are inevitably picked up by the detector.
“But every other hypothesis was discarded: it was precisely for gravitational waves and we have the first certified”.
“I am at least 50 years that scientists are working to capture these signals. It’s like trying to hear a whisper in a sea of noise background, – continues Prodi. – To do this we employ detection instruments with different characteristics and more sophisticated.
“Our challenge is to clear the effects of environmental disturbances, such as earthquakes, lightning and even the waves of the sea or background noise resulting from human activity.
” But the same attraction of gravity of nearby objects or thermal noise and quantum related to the same measurement processes, which can interfere. The discovery is exceptional even for this first signal that we intercepted brings with it valuable information from the scientific point of view.
“He told us that blacks holes really exist, not only in theory, and that these may merge with each other.”
Lorenzo Pavesi.
“This result – adds Lorenzo Pavesi, Head of the Department of Physics – is the son of a working twenty years which was held here in Trento in the analysis of data on gravitational waves.
“We started with the group of Professor Prodi, with the previous generation of detectors and we have gained experience and satisfaction with various publications in recent years. A line of research that has been strengthened with the scientific collaboration with the INFN of Padova and the accession in 2007 to the Virgo consortium.
“We are proud of the results achieved by the many researchers who have worked with us, including many young people.
“As Marco Drago already post doc in our department, who now works at the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover and has played an important role in this discovery.
” We now want to continue to give energy to this challenge scientific, investing in these young researchers and cultivating international research networks which have brought Trento to the fore on the global scientific scene. “
the enthusiasm of the news has spurred the Department of Physics to propose a conference public depth, which will be held tomorrow evening at 6 in the classroom 18 of the Department of Humanities (Trento – Via Tomaso Gar, 14).
On this occasion, scientists from Trentino will illustrate in detail what has been detected and will explain the scope of this discovery.
Planned for the occasion also the presence of Marco Drago at the Albert Einstein Institute in Hannover: http://www.unitn.it/evento/onda-einstein.
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