An international study led by astronomers from Swinburne University of Technology has created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves in the Universe.
The discovery enabled the construction of the largest gravitational wave detector operating on a galactic scale and revealed further evidence of the existence of the gravitational wave background – invisible but extremely fast fluctuations in space that can help unravel the most important mysteries of the Universe.
The research sheds new light on the world’s largest black holes, their role in the formation of the Universe and the cosmic trail they leave behind. Dr Matt Miles, lead author of two of the three studies, says the discovery will open new avenues for understanding the evolution of the universe. According to him, studying the background of gravitational waves makes it possible to hear the echo of cosmic events that occurred billions of years ago. This gives insight into how galaxies and the entire Universe evolved.
In addition, the study made it possible to detect a signal of gravitational waves from the merger of supermassive black holes. This signal was stronger than expected and was recorded in one-third the time of previous global experiments.
Scientists used a time array of pulsars to create a detailed map of gravitational waves. The signal turned out to contain an unexpected “hot” region, which could indicate the presence of a source of the waves, such as a pair of black holes billions of times the mass of the Sun.
The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, one of the most sensitive instruments in the world, was used to create these maps.