WhyCosmo

The Universe operates under four fundamental forces— gravity, strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces . While we have understood the particles governing most of these forces, the mysterious graviton , thought to explain gravity, remains elusive. But that might change soon. It’s thought that gravity consists of minute quantum building blocks called gravitons, but so far they have been too elusive to observe. A new result from Pikovski’s Research Group now shows that next-generation quantum sensors can catch a single one. A team of researchers, led by Professor Igor Pikovski from the Stevens Institute of Technology, is testing a revolutionary method to detect individual gravitons using a quantum sensor combined with an acoustic resonator. Inspired by previous gravitational wave detections from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), this new method aims to identify the building block of gravity. Portrait of Newton in 1702, painted by Godfrey Kneller. Credit: Na...

A new study has uncovered that the explosive deaths of massive , spinning stars can send gravitational waves rippling across the universe , detectable right here on Earth. These stellar explosions, known as collapsars , occur when stars 15-20 times the mass of the Sun exhaust their nuclear fuel, collapsing inwards and forming black holes . After the death of a massive, spinning star, a disk of material forms around the central black hole. As the material cools and falls into the black hole, new research suggests that detectable gravitational waves are created. Credit: Ore Gottlieb. The intense implosion and subsequent explosion leave behind a swirling disc of matter around the black hole, which distorts space and generates powerful gravitational waves. These waves, traveling across the cosmos, have the potential to be detected by instruments like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) , which first observed such waves in 2015. LIGO Lead researcher Ore Gottlie...