Shake, Rattle and Explode: Short GRBs and the Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational Wave Sources

Colloquium: Astronomy Colloquia | August 23 | 4 p.m. | 2 LeConte Hall

Speaker/Performer: Edo Berger, CfA

Sponsor: Department of Astronomy

The bimodality of gamma-ray burst (GRB) durations points to distinct progenitor classes for the long- and short-duration GRBs. While the progenitors of long-duration GRBs are now known to be massive stars, the progenitors of short-duration GRBs remain unidentified. In this talk I will discuss the discovery of short GRB afterglow and their host galaxies, detailed studies of their environments from parsec to galactic scales, and studies of their energetics and beaming. Taken together, these observations point to the coalescence of NS-NS/NS-BH binaries as the most likely progenitors. With the upcoming Advanced LIGO/VIRGO gravitational wave detectors it is therefore possible that short GRBs will be the first detected sources, and I will discuss various approaches to making this connection between gravitational wave and electromagnetic sources.

Event Contact: rhelgens@astro.berkeley.edu, 510-642-5275