Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago. After a half-century effort, we humans have had our first contact with these waves. LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) has detected and deciphered the waves produced by pairs of colliding black holes a billion light years from Earth.

Thorne will describe LIGO and its discoveries, and the future of gravitational-wave astronomy: A future that will include at least four different frequency bands (the gravitational analogs of X-ray, optical, infrared, and radio astronomy); and a future in which astronomers will probe a rich range of phenomena, including the birth of the universe and the birth of the fundamental forces of nature in our universe’s earliest moments.

NOTES

Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation and ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences in collaboration with the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB), the Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE), the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC).

In the framework of the Ignacio Cirac-Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera Chair program at ICFO.

Adressed to general public:

The conference is addressed to the general public audience with an interest in the scientific exploration of Nature.

Registration form:

Please find attached the invitation for this event and check the link to the registration form.

Given the limited seating capacity of the auditorium, we can only accept a limited number of attendees. We would therefore like to encourage you to register as soon as possible.