Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TIME AND SPACE
New insight found in black hole collisions
by Staff Writers
Dallas TX (SPX) Feb 27, 2015


Dr. Michael Kesden, assistant professor of physics at UT Dallas, said his recent research published in the journal Physical Review Letters should significantly impact not only the study of black holes, but also the search for gravitational waves in the cosmos. Image courtesy University of Texas at Dallas.

New research by an astrophysicist at The University of Texas at Dallas provides revelations about the most energetic event in the universe -- the merging of two spinning, orbiting black holes into a much larger black hole. The work by Dr. Michael Kesden, assistant professor of physics at UT Dallas, and his colleagues provides for the first time solutions to decades-old equations that describe conditions as two black holes in a binary system orbit one another and spiral in toward collision.

The research is available online and in the Feb. 27 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Kesden, who this month was selected as a 2015 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, said the solutions should significantly impact not only the study of black holes, but also the search for gravitational waves in the cosmos. Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts that two massive objects orbiting in a binary system should move closer together as the system emits a type of radiation called gravitational waves.

"An accelerating charge, like an electron, produces electromagnetic radiation, including visible light waves. Similarly, any time you have an accelerating mass, you can produce gravitational waves," Kesden said.

"In a binary black hole system, where you have two massive objects orbiting each other and exerting forces on each other, they are accelerating and emitting gravitational waves. The energy lost to gravitational waves causes the black holes to spiral closer and closer together until they merge, which is the most energetic event in the universe.

"That energy, rather than going out as visible light, which is easy to see, goes out as gravitational waves, which are very weak and much more difficult to detect."

While Einstein's theories predict the existence of gravitational waves, they have not been directly detected. But the ability to "see" gravitational waves would open up a new window to view and study the universe.

Optical telescopes can capture photos of visible objects, such as stars and planets, and radio and infrared telescopes can reveal additional information about invisible energetic events. Gravitational waves would provide yet another medium through which to examine astrophysical phenomena, Kesden said.

"Using gravitational waves as an observational tool, you could learn about the characteristics of the black holes that were emitting those waves billions of years ago, information such as their masses and mass ratios," Kesden said. "That's important data for more fully understanding the evolution and nature of the universe."

This year, a large-scale physics experiment called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) aims to be the first to directly detect gravitational waves. LIGO is the largest project funded by the National Science Foundation.

"The equations that we solved will help predict the characteristics of the gravitational waves that LIGO would expect to see from binary black hole mergers," Kesden said. "We're looking forward to comparing our solutions to the data that LIGO collects."

The equations Kesden solved deal specifically with the spin angular momentum of binary black holes and a phenomenon called precession.

Angular momentum is a measure of the amount of rotation a spinning object has. Spin angular momentum not only includes the speed at which an object rotates, but also the direction in which that spin points. For a simple object like a spinning figure skater, the direction of angular momentum would point up.

Another type of angular momentum, called orbital angular momentum, applies to a system in which objects are in orbit about one another. Orbital angular momentum also has a magnitude and a direction.

In an astrophysical setting like a binary black hole system, the directions of the individual types of angular momenta change, or precess, over time.

"In these systems, you have three angular momenta, all changing direction with respect to the plane of the orbit -- the two spin angular momenta and the one orbital angular momentum," Kesden said. "The solutions that we now have describe the orientations of the precessing black hole spins."

In addition to solving existing equations, Kesden also derived equations that will allow scientists to statistically track spin precession from black hole formation to merger far more efficiently and quickly.

"We can do it millions of times faster than was previously possible," he said. "With these solutions, we can create computer simulations that follow black hole evolution over billions of years. A simulation that previously would have taken years can now be done in seconds. But it's not just faster -- there are things that we can learn from these simulations that we just couldn't learn any other way."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Texas at Dallas
Understanding Time and Space






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TIME AND SPACE
Astronomers find impossibly large black hole
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Feb 26, 2015
An international team of astronomers have found a huge and ancient black hole which was powering the brightest object early in the universe. The black hole's mass is 12 billion times that of the Sun, and it lives at the centre of a quasar that pumped out a million billion times the energy of our Sun. Team member Dr Fuyan Bian, from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ... read more


TIME AND SPACE
Application of laser microprobe technology to Apollo samples refines lunar impact history

NASA releases video of the far side of the Moon

US Issuing Licenses for Mineral Mining on Moon

LRO finds lunar hydrogen more abundant on Moon's pole-facing slopes

TIME AND SPACE
Curiosity confirms methane in Mars' atmosphere

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Drills at 'Telegraph Peak'

How Can We Protect Mars From Earth, While Searching For Life

The Search For Volcanic Eruptions On Mars Reaches The Next Level

TIME AND SPACE
Diamantino Sforza - Gentleman Farmer of Prince George's County

Water pools in US astronaut's helmet after spacewalk

Korean tech start-ups offer life beyond Samsung

Fast visas and dim sum: Spain seeks to attract Chinese tourists

TIME AND SPACE
Argentina welcomes first Chinese satellite tracking station outside China

More Astronauts for China

China launches the FY-2 08 meteorological satellite successfully

China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

TIME AND SPACE
US astronauts speed through spacewalk at orbiting lab

Watching Alloys Change from Liquid to Solid Could Lead to Better Metals

Spacewalk to go ahead on Sunday despite helmet leak

NASA Hopes to Continue Cooperation on ISS Until 2024

TIME AND SPACE
Soyuz-2.1a Rocket Takes Military Satellite to Designated Orbit

Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Construction Reaches Home Stretch

Next Launch of Heavy Angara-5 Rocket Due Next Year

SES Announces Two Launch Agreements With SpaceX

TIME AND SPACE
Planets Can Alter Each Other's Climates over Eons

The mystery of cosmic oceans and dunes

Laser 'ruler' holds promise for hunting exoplanets

Scientists predict earth-like planets around most stars

TIME AND SPACE
Australia researchers create 'world first' 3D-printed jet engines

New NASA Space Cowboy Deploys Its 'Lasso'

Watching bonds form using femtosecond X-ray liquidography

New research predicts when, how materials will act




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.