Gravitational Radiation from Black Holes

引力物理学的研究将模拟黑洞之间碰撞产生的引力波。水、声波和电磁波都是自然界中常见的波。爱因斯坦对牛顿引力理论的重新表述是对广义相对论的一个革命性预测，即加速质量产生引力波，类似于电荷产生电磁波的方式。引力波已经通过它们对双星脉冲星轨道的影响而间接被探测到。一个足够灵敏的激光干涉引力波观测站(LIGO)现在正在建设中，它将开启一种新的天文学形式。了解黑洞碰撞产生的波的形状对于从LIGO信号推断碰撞过程至关重要。

Research in gravitational physics will simulate the production ofgravity waves by collisions between black holes. Water, soundand electromagnetic waves are common examples of waves occurring in nature. Arevolutionary prediction of general relativity, Einstein's reformulation ofNewton's gravitational theory, is that accelerated masses produce gravitywaves analogous to the way electric charges produce electromagnetic waves.Gravity waves have already been detected indirectly by their effect onbinary pulsars orbits. A Laser Interferometric Gravity Wave Observatory (LIGO)sensitive enough to detect the waves directly is now under construction andwill open up a new form of astronomy. The knowledge of the shape of the waveproduced in a black hole collision is crucial to infer the collision processfrom the LIGO signal.