Chiara Mingarelli

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.

The podcast explores NanoGRAV's groundbreaking discovery of gravitational waves using pulsars, delves into the rarity and significance of gravitational waves from supermassive black hole mergers, discusses the unique nature of gravitational waves generated by these mergers, explores the utilization of pulsar timing arrays by NanoGRAV, and speculates on future breakthroughs in gravitational wave science including detecting supermassive black hole binary systems and the true nature of dark matter.