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Nuclear astrophysics using the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA gravitational-wave network

ORAL · Invited

Abstract

The ground-based gravitational-wave detectors Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, and KAGRA began their fourth observing run in May 2023, and currently plan to continue the observing run through 2024. In this talk, I will focus on observations of binary mergers involving neutron stars using this current-generation network. I will review potential implications for improving our understanding of the nuclear physics of stellar evolution, heavy element nucleosynthesis, and the equation of state of dense matter. I will discuss the network's sensitivity to different source classes, and assess what we can expect for neutron-star observations in the fourth observing run. I will explain the methods through which the LVK collaborations plan to use new signals to better understand nuclear astrophysics, and discuss what we will be able to learn from current- and near-future observations.

* This material is based upon work supported by NSF's LIGO Laboratory which is a major facility fully funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the United Kingdom, the Max-Planck-Society (MPS), and the State of Niedersachsen/Germany for support of the construction of Advanced LIGO and construction and operation of the GEO600 detector. Additional support for Advanced LIGO was provided by the Australian Research Council. Virgo is funded, through the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), by the French Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and the Dutch Nikhef, with contributions by institutions from Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Monaco, Poland, Portugal, Spain. KAGRA is supported by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in Japan; National Research Foundation (NRF) and Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) in Korea; Academia Sinica (AS) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in Taiwan.

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Presenters

  • Jocelyn S Read

    CSU Fullerton

Authors

  • Jocelyn S Read

    CSU Fullerton