Gravitational waves / Elementary tour part 2: Making waves

In our universe, gravitational waves are produced in many different ways. Almost every occasion in which masses are accelerated leads to the generation of travelling space distortions, be it two heavenly bodies orbiting one another or stellar matter jettisoned into space in a gigantic explosion.

However, all of the gravitational waves that reach us from the depths of space are very weak, since as such a wave propagates away from its source, it spreads out farther and farther, and the distortions get weaker and weaker. In order for our detectors to measure a gravitational wave, on the other hand, it must be comparatively strong (and that will be the case only for waves generated in some of the most violent situations our universe has to offer).

Such extreme situations include two orbiting neutron stars, or a neutron star orbiting a black hole, or even two black holes orbiting one another. Such objects (which will be described further in the following chapter, Black holes & Co.) are extremely compact (i.e. for objects of their mass, they are of extremely small size). It is this compactness that makes these binaries excellent sources for strong gravitational waves.

Before gravitational waves have been measured directly for the first time in 2015, there was already strong indirect evidence. The smoking gun was a system of orbiting neutron stars with the catchy name PSR1913+16. Einstein’s theory predicts that gravitational waves carry away energy. For a system of orbiting stars, such a decrease in total energy leads to an ever faster and closer orbit. Over decades, radio astronomers have monitored the time that it takes the stars of PSR1913+16 to complete each successive orbit, and lo and behold: this orbital period decreases over time exactly as predicted by general relativity. This is strong evidence that the speed-up is indeed due to the radiation of gravitational waves, and the reason Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor were awarded the Nobel prize for physics for the year 1993.

With orbiting objects drawing nearer and nearer (as in the case of PSR1913+16), the end is inevitable: There will be a collision, and if neutron stars or black hole collide, a huge amount of energy is radiated away in the form of gravitational waves. The following simulation by scientists of the Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics shows the spatial distortions effected by these waves as expanding, coloured regions. In this example, the collision and merger involves two black holes.

Supernovae (violent explosions of dying stars, in which huge amounts of energy are freed and huge amounts of matter ejected into space) are also promising gravitational wave sources.

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Definitioner

merger

A merger occurs as a consequence of an inspiral, when two black holes collide to form one single bigger black hole. The emission of gravitational waves peaks during a merger.

PSR1913+16

Ein bestimmter Doppelstern, der aus zwei einander umkreisenden Neutronensternen besteht, von denen einer ein Pulsar ist, von dem wir hier auf der Erde regelmäßige Radiopulse auffangen können. Aus Sicht der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie ist das System nicht nur interessant, weil sich an den Pulsen Effekte wie die relativistische Lichtlaufzeitverzögerung mit sonst nicht erreichbarer Präzision nachweisen lassen, sondern vor allem, weil er den ersten indirekten Nachweis der Existenz von Gravitationswellen liefert: Die Umlaufzeit der Doppelsternpartner umeinander nimmt mit der Zeit exakt so ab, wie man es im Rahmen der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie, aufgrund der Abstrahlung von Gravitationswellen, erwarten würde.

wave

In a general sense: any travelling pattern, whether or not it involves matter being transported as well. Simple examples are water-waves - wave crests and troughs travelling over a water surface, and a Mexican wave in a football stadium, with fans alternately standing up and sitting down - the pattern moves throught the stadium, not the fans themselves.

An especially simple form for a wave is a sinus wave, a regular pattern of wave crests and troughs.

waves (wave)

An especially simple form for a wave is a sinus wave, a regular pattern of wave crests and troughs.

time

It is a fact of life that not all events in our universe happen concurrently - instead, there is a certain order. Defining a time coordinate or defining time, the way physicists do it, is to define a prescription to associate with each event a number so as to reflect that order - if event B happens after event A, then the number associated with B should be larger than that associated with A. The first step of this definition is to construct a clock: Choose a simple process that repeats regularly. (What is "regular"? Luckily, in our universe, all elementary processes such as a swinging pendulum, the oscillations of atoms or of electronic circuits lead to the same concept of regularity.) As a second step, install a counter: A mechanism that, with every repetition of the chosen process, raises the count by one. With this definition, one can at least assign a time (the numerical value of the counter) to events happening at location of the clock. For events at different locations, an additional definition is necessary: One needs to define simultaneity. After all, the statement that some far-away event A happens at 12 o'clock is the same as saying that event A and "our clock counter shows 12:00:00" are simultaneous. The how and why of defining simultaneity - a centre-piece of Einstein's special theory of relativity - are described in the spotlight topic Defining "now". With all these preparations, physicists can, in principle, assign a time coordinate value ("a time") to any possible events, and describes how fast or how slow processes happen, compared to that time coordinate.

stars (star)

A cosmic gas ball that is massive enough for pressure and temperatur in its core to reach values where self-sustained nuclear fusion reactions set in. The energy set free in these reactions makes stars into very bright sources of light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Once the nuclear fuel is exhausted, the star becomes a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole.

speed

An object's average speed is the distance it moves during a given period of time, divided by the length of the time interval. If you make the time interval infinitely small, the result is the object's speed at one particular moment in time. The notion of speed can be applied to waves in different ways; for instance, for a simple wave, the phase speed is the speed at which any given wave crest or wave propagates through space. See also the more general entry velocity.

space

In a strict sense: Space as we know it from everyday life: the totality of all locations in which objects can sit, with three dimensions. In a more general sense used by mathematicians, all kinds of sets of points are spaces - a line for instance, which has but a single dimension, or a two-dimensional surface, but also higher-dimensional spaces. Also, in such more general spaces, geometry can be different from the standard Euclidean geometry taught in high schools - such spaces can be curved.

radiation

In a general sense: Collective name for all phenomena in which energy is transported through space in the form of waves or particles. In a more restricted sense, the word is often used synonymously with electromagnetic radiation.

PSR1913+16

A specific binary system consisting of two orbiting neutron stars, one of which is a pulsar from which we here on Earth receive regularly spaced radio pulses. From the point of view of general relativity, the system is interesting not only because, using the pulses, one can measure effects such as Shapiro delay with impressive precision, but because it has given us the first indirect proof for the existence of gravitational waves: the orbital period of the two stars becomes slightly shorter with each orbit, exactly in the way predicted by general relativity due to the energy the system radiates away in the form of gravitational waves.

neutron

Particle that is electrically neutral and comparatively massive; the atomic nuclei consist of neutrons and protons. Neutrons are not elementary particles, they are compound particles consisting of quarks that are bound together through the strong nuclear interaction . Collectively, neutrons, protons and a number of similar particles are called baryons. Neutron stars are mainly made of neutrons.

matter

In general relativity: All contents of spacetime that contribute to its curvature: particles, dust, gases, fluids, electromagnetic and other fields. In particle physics: All elementary particles with half-integer spin, such as electrons and quarks, as well as their composites such as protons and neutrons, in contrast with force particles.

gravitational waves

Distortions of space geometry that propagate through space with the speed of light, analogous to ripples on the surface of a pond propagating as water waves. For more informations about gravitational waves, please consult the chapter Gravitational waves of Elementary Einstein. Selected aspects of gravitational wave physics are described in the category Gravitational waves of our Spotlights on relativity.

general relativity (general theory of relativity)

Albert Einstein's theory of gravity; a generalization of his special theory of relativity. For information about the concepts and applications of this theory, we recommend the chapter general relativity of our introductory section Elementary Einstein. Further information about many different aspects of general relativity and its applications can be found in our section Spotlights on relativity.

energy

Physical quantity with the special property that, in physical processes, energy is neither destroyed nor created, simply transformed from one form of energy to another. Some of the different forms of energy that are defined separately are kinetic energy, thermal energy and the energy carried by electromagnetic radiation. Processes that transform one form of energy into another take place in all machines we use in everyday life, from the engine of a subway train (electrical energy into kinetic energy of the train) to an electric blanket (electrical energy into thermal energy). One important consequence of special relativity is that energy and mass are completely equivalent - two different ways to define what is, on closer inspection, one and the same physical quantity. See the keyword equivalence between mass and energy.

black hole

Region in space where a sufficient amount of mass is concentrated so that it forms a gravitational prison - a region into which matter or light can enter from the outside, but from which nothing that has once entered can ever leave. Basic information on this key phenomenon of Einstein's general theory of relativity can be found in the chapter Black holes & Co. of Elementary Einstein. Selected aspects of the physics of black holes and neutron stars are described in the category Black holes & Co. of our Spotlights on relativity. In Einstein's theory, black holes are truly black, due to the fact that no radiation or light can ever escape them. Once quantum theory is taken into account, this assumption no longer holds - on the contrary, it seems as if black holes should emit so-called Hawking radiation. However, for astrophysical black holes (that typically have more or even much more than one solar mass), that radiation would be undetectable, even if we could transport today's most sensitive sensors into the immediate vicinity of the black hole.

black holes (black hole)

Gravitational waves / Elementary tour part 2: Making waves

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