"Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena"

Compact Binary Coalescences: Astrophysical Processes and Lessons Learned

On 11 February 2016, the LIGO and Virgo scientific collaborations announced the first direct detection of gravitational waves, a signal caught by the LIGO interferometers on 14 September 2015, and produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black …

Searches for Continuous-Wave Gravitational Radiation

Now that detection of gravitational wave signals from the coalescence of extra-galactic compact binary star mergers has become nearly routine, it is intriguing to consider other potential gravitational wave signatures. Here we examine the prospects …

Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be a transformative experiment for gravitational wave astronomy as it will offer unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a completely novel way. The synergy with ground-based …

An Exploration of Possible Governance Models for the Future Global Gravitational-Wave Observatory Network

The construction of a global network of detectors is the cornerstone to scientific success for 3rd generation gravitational wave astronomy. If carried out with a vision to the future, the third generation implementation, in its infrastructure, …

Expanding the Reach of Gravitational Wave Astronomy to the Edge of the Universe: The Gravitational-Wave International Committee Study Reports on Next Generation Ground-based Gravitational-Wave Observatories

The first direct detection of gravitational waves emitted from a pair of merging black holes in 2015 has been heralded as one of most significant scientific breakthroughs in physics and astronomy of the 21st century. Motivated by the tremendous …

Future Ground-Based Gravitational-Wave Observatories: Synergies with Other Scientific Communities

Planning for the development of a 3rd generation global gravitational-wave detector array is a multifaceted and complex effort that will necessarily need a high level of community input. Interfacing to extant and new stakeholders in the broader …

Gravitational Wave Data Analysis: Computing Challenges in the 3G Era

Cyber infrastructure will be a critical consideration in the development of next generation gravitational-wave detectors. The demand for data analysis computing in the 3G era will be driven by the high number of detections as well as the expanded …

The First 5 Years of Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics

General relativity predicts that moving massive objects generate gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime that propagate at the speed of light. Direct detection of gravitational waves was first announced in February of 2016. Vitale reviews the …

Testing General Relativity with Gravitational Waves

Gravitational-wave sources offer us unique testbeds for probing strong-field, dynamical, and nonlinear aspects of gravity. In this chapter, we give a brief overview of the current status and future prospects of testing general relativity with …

Testing the Black Hole `No-Hair' Hypothesis

Black holes (BHs) in general relativity (GR) are very simple objects. This property, that goes under the name of `no-hair', has been refined in the last few decades and admits several versions. The simplicity of BHs makes them ideal testbeds of …