LIGO-G W Science: How the “facts” change Fred Raab LIGO Hanford Observatory

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change2 Science relies on facts, just as a builder may use stones to construct a house. But a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not science. -sentiment ascribed to H. Poincaré Let’s explore the role of facts and process in the study of gravity...

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change3 Gravity experienced by the earliest humans least well understood of all the forces of nature today a puzzle that has given mankind some of its key insights into the origin and structure of our universe not a smooth intellectual ride…

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change4 Aristotle’s Gravity Fact: heavy objects fall faster than light objects Evidence: clearly heavy objects are dense (earth- like) and more strongly attracted to earth Explanation: heavy objects have more earth and light objects more air; each element seeks out its own kind

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change5 Galileo’s Gravity Fact: all objects – heavy or light – fall the same when wind is not a factor Evidence: rolling objects of different composition down an incline allows one to carefully time the falling motion; observed “law of falling bodies” is a purely mathematical relation independent of composition of object Explanation: hmm…

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change6 Newton’s Gravity Fact: all objects – heavy or light, on earth or in the cosmos – fall according to the same laws, with no dependence on mass or composition Evidence: equivalence of periods of pendula made with different object in “bob”; detailed laws governing everything from projectiles to the motion of the moon Explanation: universal relation between inertia and strength of gravity, unlike in any other known force (e.g., electric and magnetic behavior of different substances is different)

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change7 WOW! Newton’s theory made the domain of science a much, much bigger place. For the first time in history, the laws of earth and the laws of the cosmos were linked. Even more astounding, they appeared to be the same laws!

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change8 Einstein’s Gravity Fact: gravity is a manifestation of the structure of space and time Evidence: orbit of Mercury; bending of starlight; gravitational redshift; pulsar timing; timing by global positioning system, etc. Explanation: space and time are warped by the presence of matter ( or energy); matter moving through warped space and time produces the effects we ascribe to gravity; the reason all stuff falls at the same rate has nothing to do with the stuff, but depends on the space and time they fall through

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change9 Warping of a 2-D Sheet of Space Like a flat sheet of paper Like the curved surface of a globe

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change10 The New Wrinkle on Equivalence Not only the path of matter, but even the path of light is affected by gravity from massive objects Einstein Cross Photo credit: NASA and ESA A massive object shifts apparent position of a star

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change11 Matter in Motion Makes Gravitational Waves Gravitational waves are ripples in space when it is stirred up by rapid motions of large concentrations of matter or energy Rendering of space stirred by two orbiting black holes:

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change12 WOW! Einstein’s General Relativity is ultimately a theory of space and time. Newton’s equations gave astronomers the key to measuring the expanse of space. Einstein’s equation gave astronomers the key to unlocking time. For the first time, the laws of physics were extended over all of space and all of time. Thus began the new science of cosmology: the study of the evolution of the universe.

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change13 The Big Bang Universe Fact: the entire extent of the universe originated from a tiny, hot, region of space at the beginning of time, approximately 14 billion years ago Evidence: relative abundances of light elements, detection of relic light (CMB) from big bang in 1964, subsequent measurement of the CMB spectrum; images of universe at the time of atom formation Explanation: follows outline of Friedman’s solution of Einstein equation, resulting in an expanding universe; some alterations (e.g., inflation) made, some in progress

LIGO-G W Science: How the "facts" change14 Big Questions for 21 st Century Science Images of light from Big Bang imply 95% of the universe is composed of dark matter and dark energy. What is this stuff? The expansion of the universe is speeding up. Is it blowing apart? There are immense black holes at the centers of galaxies. How and when did they form? What was it like at the birth of space and time? WMAP Image of Relic Light from Big Bang (~2003) Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (2004)