Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 212 | Chiara Mingarelli on Searching for Black Holes with Pulsars
6 snips
Sep 26, 2022 In this engaging discussion, Chiara Mingarelli, an astrophysicist and expert in pulsar timing arrays, dives into the fascinating world of black holes and gravitational waves. She explains how pulsars act as cosmic clocks, crucial for detecting these waves. The conversation reveals the evolution of our understanding of black holes and their roles in galaxies, as well as the upcoming LISA mission's potential to enhance gravitational wave observations. Mingarelli also highlights the challenges in measurement and data analysis within this groundbreaking field.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Pulsar Timing Arrays
- Chiara Mingarelli uses pulsar timing arrays, a unique method for detecting gravitational waves.
- This involves monitoring pulsars, which act like precise clocks, to identify distortions caused by passing gravitational waves.
Primordial Black Holes
- Primordial black holes may have formed from early universe density fluctuations, potentially contributing to dark matter.
- However, current evidence suggests this is unlikely due to a lack of lensing events.
Supermassive Black Hole Formation
- Supermassive black holes, located at the centers of massive galaxies, aren't responsible for holding the galaxy together.
- Their formation and journey to the galactic centers remains an open question in astrophysics.