Gravitational

waves
Paul Coutin
27/04/2023
Guillaume Saury
II) What is gravity ?
I) Introduction G ravitation is
one of the
four fundamental
Gravity is a defor-
mation of space-
time. Einstein
T he detection of
gravitational waves
is a new window to
It will make it possible
to explore regions of
the universe inacces-
interactions
govern the
verse. This
that
uni-
law
gave an equation
for this which
describe how
understanding the laws sible to electromagnetic caracterizes matter affects the
that govern the uni- observations. It also attraction bet- curvature of
verse. may prove the exis- ween major ob- space-time.
tence of the graviton. jects.

III) What is a gravi- IV) How are they V) How do we

tational wave ? created ? detect them?
A gravitational
wave is an oscil-
lation in the curva-
ture of space-time
A ny accelerating object produces
gravitational waves :
that propagates a All binary objects for example :
great distance from
its point of forma- Compact binaries
tion. (for example white
They were theorized dwarfs and neu-
in 1916 by Einstein. tron stars )
Black hole binaries The most efficient
The speed of gravitational wave is the
same as speed of light, as was con-
firmed in 2017 by two detector and detectors
several satellites.
VIRGO (Italy) GEO600 (Germany)
Supernovae
The amplitude of the waves for binary LIGO (USA) TAMA (Japan)
objects is given by this equation.
mass of the system
gravitational
Spinning
constant distance neutron stars Michelson
between
interferometer
the objects
speed of light and the
and the Inflation
distance between the two
objects detector

VI) The event of 2015

T he first confirmed gravi-

tational wave detection !
Simultaneous detection was
Three physicists (Rainer Weiss,
Kip Thorne and Barry Barish)
won the Nobel Prize in 2018
observed at two different sites for this combined detection.
(Livingston and Hanford) on
14th september 2015.

Source : Recherche des ondes gravitationnelles avec l'interféromètre virgo : étude et conception de
l'ensemble de détection du signal, by AGNES DOMINJON