Scientists Announce a Massive Gravitational Wave Discovery! New Physics At Play?

Astronomers have finally discovered the gravitational-wave background, the faint hum of the cosmos. This discovery shows that the universe is constantly vibrating with a frequency in the range of nanohertz, believed to be a result of the merging of supermassive black holes across the universe. This is important because astronomers previously thought that supermassive black holes cannot merge owing to the final parsec problem.

So, what exactly is the gravitational-wave background? Why did astronomers think that supermassive black holes could not merge to produce this hum? Finally, and most importantly, how is it going to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos?

The 66th episode of the Sunday Discovery Series answers all these questions in detail.

RESEARCH PAPERS:

Created By: Rishabh Nakra
Written & Researched By: Shreejaya Karantha
Narrated By: Jeffrey Smith

[MrBollocks]

I wish I could understand the "simply put" version.😊
I'm just happy, that they are so happy.😃

[christophercharles]

Sad that the Arecibo telescope is no longer with us. It was an amazing site.

[BOK-]

Love the detail that makes a former mathematician like me, happy! Keep up the difficult and great work!

[irene_renaissance]

Wow!! The second chapter is so vividly explained ! 👍🙏

[fifthfreedom]

what we are learning daily is how much we do not know or understand.. looking at reality through 'our' human capabilities

[cykkm]

Hi SoU team, love your compressed, deep but still accessible analyses! *Question to Shreejaya and Rishabh:* the explicit resolution of the final parsec problem (FPP) is kinda left hanging in the air. Chapter 1 posed the problem, next chapters described the truly astonishing observation, and... the video ended! But what's up with the FPP resolution? How did the new data suggest a solution?
I understand that when 2 SMBHs bind into a binary, they clean up all material that slows their period by friction and other interactions, and what's left is a nice and pure system of two orbiting masses, 1pc apart, give or take. All gas has been consumed, accretion ended, only the two orbiting masses: a pretty unencumbered picture. But what I cannot grok is, this is a nearly ideal system that is, in my mind, understood very well in GR. Any orbiting binary system loses orbital momentum by emitting GW, which carries it away, and the masses inspiral closer and closer, with a period shrinking over time, thus increasing GW flux exponentially, till the final runaway merger. It was even in my grad advanced GR course (20+ years back).
And nevertheless, the FPP existed! I understood it essence as, according to this, pretty uncomplicated model, the predicted energy loss rate by GW radiation alone was too slow to allow the SMBH binary components to merge in a realistic time; the order of 1pc is quite a huge distance to shed energy—is this correct?
Now, we have the new observation confirming with a high certainty that orbiting SMBH systems are common, and do in fact emit GW. But _what exactly did the new observation change_ in our understanding of the SMBH merge process? Did it agree with the simple model I mentioned, i.e. SMBH inspiraling in near vacuum? But if it did, then what changed, _what exactly_ had resolved the FPP, still predicted by the existing model? And if the observation, conversely, suggested corrections to this simplistic model, then _how exactly_ the model had to be corrected to fit the new observation, and in such a way that it had resolved the paradox?
Hope you could make a follow-up vid nailing the answer to the FPP that prompted this one in the first place! Thank you!

[eel]

i love how you simplify my thoughts and understanding of what is

[cecilionembraceofnight]

amazing lessong thanks for updates bruhh ❤

[lauratamayo]

I really appreciate this information.... Excellent

[Leo-pdfc]

Universe is amazing and beautiful with full of mysteries. We dont know much about this whole universe. This is best space channel in youtube. 🌌

[thesciencenetworktr]

I wish you success in your work. You are very good!

[shreyashkhandelwal]

Yup I'm happy
I did the great hum on my thesis!!

[robotaholic]

I love your voice and I love the great quality of editing in your videos

[muradumer]

Gravitational wave background found!
Physicists announced late Wednesday (June 28, 2023) that they've discovered the first compelling evidence for the elusive gravitational wave background.Jun 29, 2023.

[fatimasvogue]

Wow!! The second chapter is so vividly explained! 👍
Thanks!

[Jagath]

Anyone know the background music at the start please?

[pcrombie]

will we be able to use the waves to do things like traveling thru space

[mrkbrq]

Idk why but this stuff utterly fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time.

[RAE-homely-fairy-of-the-light]

Pictures like these have me thinking soul mate stuff❤❤.•°

[paulstuart]

Their must be different frequencies of magnetic waves according to the mass, this must affect the outcome of particle collisions & interactions.