“We have just taken our first look at the Universe in a completely new way”

Syracuse, NY… Scientists in the Department of Physics at Syracuse University have been instrumental in the discovery of gravitational waves, confirming a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity. They include Peter Saulson, the Martin A. Pomerantz ’37 Professor of Physics; Duncan Brown, the Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics; Stefan Ballmer, assistant professor of physics; and a group of nearly two dozen students and research scientists. Saulson was one of the first to suggest binary star systems as a dominant source of gravitational waves. He considers the LIGO discovery “historic, with Nobel Prize implications,” because the ripples “allow us to get up close and personal with black holes in a way that no other kind of observations can match.”

Peter Saulson, the Martin A. Pomerantz ’37 Professor of Physics
“This discovery is historic, with Nobel Prize implications, because the ripples allow us to get up close and personal with black holes in a way that no other kind of observation can match.”

“Einstein theorized that gravity was not a force, but a curvature of spacetime. … Think of the two black holes, which we’ve observed, as two bowling balls, rolling along a trampoline. They orbit each other because their mass produces a deep depression in the surface of the trampoline. As the balls orbit, they jiggle the trampoline’s surface, sending out energy in the form of ripples called gravitational waves.”

“In spacetime, the two black holes eventually collide with one another to form a single black hole. The ripples from this cataclysmic event propagate through spacetime at the speed of light. They’ve traveled through the Universe for more than a billion years, before reaching us on September 14.”

“Gravitational waves stretch space, but their effect is almost imperceptible. It has taken 21st-century technology, a team of hundreds of experts, and decades of effort to detect them.”

“This discovery is significant for two reasons: It opens up a new way of studying the Universe, enabling scientists to infer processes at work that produce gravitational waves, and it shows that black holes work the way Einstein had predicted.”

Duncan Brown, the Charles Brightman Endowed Professor of Physics
“As they [the back holes] collided, some of their mass was converted into energy, according to Einstein’s formula E=mc². The peak power output was about 50 times that of the light emitted by all the stars in the Universe. It is these gravitational waves that LIGO has observed.”

Stefan Ballmer, assistant professor of physics
“I was amazed at how soon into its first observation run that Advanced LIGO made this discovery. I was in the LIGO control room the night before for the final detector tuning. When I returned the next morning, there was a buzz in the air. I’ll never forget staring at the first plots, getting goose bumps.”

“What we have built is akin to Galileo’s first telescope. We have just taken our first look at the Universe in a completely new way. There is so much to learn from gravitational waves in the coming years and likely many surprises.”

Alan Middleton, professor and chair of physics

“Our Gravitational Wave Group has made central contributions to the opening of a new window onto the Universe—a window that has already revealed some of the most exotic objects and awe-inspiring events in all of existence. Without question, this group’s amazing accomplishments help make the University internationally prominent in research.”

For more information, please contact Sarah Scalese, Associate Vice President for University Communications, at sscalese@syr.edu or 315.443-8085.