Martedì 23 aprile alle ore 15:00, il Dr. Mattia Bulla dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara terrà il seminario dal titolo “Let there be light: illuminating neutron star mergers at the dawn of a multi-messenger gravitational-wave era“.

Abstract

On August 17, 2017, the detection of light and gravitational waves from the merger of two neutron stars was a watershed moment in history and marked year zero of the multi-messenger gravitational-wave era. The joint detection of gravitational and electromagnetic waves from the same source provided a new window to answer fundamental questions in physics and astrophysics, including the origin of some heavy elements we find on Earth, the rate of expansion of our Universe and the equation of state of nuclear matter. In my talk, I will first review what we learned from this first multi-messenger event and then discuss the prospects of detecting more of them in the coming years, thanks to the advent of new and improved gravitational-wave and electromagnetic facilities. In particular, I will show how radiative transfer simulations can illuminate neutron star mergers and provide predictions that are crucial to properly interpret data, place constraints on models and guide future follow-up campaigns of gravitational-wave events.