2.00-3.00 pm, Seminar Hall
K. Lakshmanan Memorial Distinguished Lecture
The detection of gravitational waves and the two body problem in general relativity
Bala Iyer
ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru.
17-01-18

---

Abstract

The recent successful detection of gravitational waves has been a century long Odyssey involving a remarkable experiment and an elegant theory. In the latter aspect, it was made possible by a critical understanding of physical effects of gravitational waves and an improved understanding of the problem of two body motion in general relativity. This talk is a personal broad brush overview of how an unforgiving experiment drove an exquisite theory to create a sophisticated data analysis infrastructure to detect gravitational waves and to decipher their properties.