Open AccessThe past, present and future of gravitational wave astronomy
Author(s) -
Howard Leverenz,
Miroslav Filipović
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
serbian astronomical journal/serbian astronomical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.196
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1820-9289
pISSN - 1450-698X
DOI - 10.2298/saj210518001l
Subject(s) - physics , ligo , gravitational wave , astronomy , general relativity , einstein , skepticism , cosmic cancer database , astrophysics , einstein telescope , theory of relativity , gravitation , theoretical physics , classical mechanics , epistemology , philosophy
Gravitational Waves (GWs) have become a major source of insight in Multi Messenger Astronomy since their first direct detection in 2015 (Abbott et al. 2016) where the Nobel prize in Physics was awarded in 2017 to LIGO founders Barry C. Barish, Kip S. Thorne, and Rainer Weiss. They complement electromagnetic and particle measurements by providing cosmic scale evidence which cannot be detected in any other way. Their rise to prominence has not been straightforward since the founder of general relativity, Albert Einstein, who predicted GWs, was nevertheless skeptical of their existence and detectability. This skepticism put a damper on Gravitational Wave (GW) research that was not overcome until the 1950's, the decade of Einstein's death. Since then, ever more sensitive GW detectors have been designed for construction on earth and in space. Each of these detector approaches was designed to expand the types of cosmic events that could be detected.