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Credit: West Virginia University
In data gathered and analyzed over 13 years, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Physics Frontiers Center (PFC) has found an intriguing low-frequency signal that may be attributable to gravitational waves.
NANOGrav researchers - including a number from West Virginia University s (WVU s) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology - measure the times of arrival of radio pulses from exotic stars called pulsars with large radio telescopes, including the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Pulsars are small, dense stars that rapidly rotate, emitting beamed radio waves, much like a lighthouse. The results from this most recent dataset show perturbations in the arrival times from these pulsars that may indicate the effects of gravitational waves, as reported recently in
Scientists detect resonant hum’ permeating the universe from gravitational wave data
Study authors suspect the low-frequency signal might be coming from gravitational waves, which serves an indicator of cosmic activity.
Jan 22, 2021 12:09:19 IST
Scientists may have, for the first time, heard the gravitational wave background or resonant hum that permeates the Universe for the very first time. North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) detected the sound. The findings from the observations were published in the
Astrophysical Journal Letters. In the research, scientists analysed data over a span of 13 years. Researchers studying the signals from distant pulsars, made use of radio telescopes to collect statistics that may indicate the effects of gravitational waves.
Scientists at NANOGrav have detected, what seems to be, the ‘resonant hum’ (also referred to as the ‘gravitational wave background’) of the universe for the first time.
Scientists may have detected hum of the universe for the first time
Some known noise sources could be ruled out to understand the sound but they needed more data to determine if it was indeed from gravitational waves. The sound was detected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav). (Image for representation)
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Updated: Jan 18, 2021, 09:28 PM IST
In an exciting news for space enthusiasts, scientists have detected what could be the resonant hum or the gravitational wave background of the Universe. This will be the first time that this hum would have been heard.
According to the findings published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, the sound was detected by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav).