Listening to the cosmic murmur of the Universe
Listening to the Cosmic Murmur of the Universe: The Search for Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves with NANOGrav
The NANOGrav (North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves) collaboration recently reached a significant milestone by announcing the first evidence of the detection of low-frequency gravitational waves. These observations appear to reveal the existence of a background of disturbances in spacetime that permeates the entire universe and creates oscillations with periods ranging from one to several years. The detection of this subtle cosmic "murmur" provides us with a new window to explore and understand the universe in depth. In this talk, we will explore in detail the method used to detect these tiny alterations in spacetime and analyze the significance of this detection in the fields of astrophysics and fundamental physics.
Speaker:
José Juan Blanco-Pillado, Professor Ikerbasque, UPV/EHU
José Juan Blanco-Pillado (A Coruña, 1972) holds a degree in Fundamental Physics from the University of Santiago de Compostela (1994), where he received the First National Prize for Academic Excellence. He has undertaken research stays at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, the GSI (Global Space Institute) in Damstadt, Germany, and CERN in Switzerland. In 1994, he studied for a year at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) on an Erasmus scholarship. In 1996, he received the Extraordinary Degree Award after presenting his thesis in the Department of Particle Physics at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Also in 1996, with a grant from the Barrié Foundation, he began his doctoral studies at Tufts University in Boston, USA, specializing in Cosmology. In 2001, he obtained his PhD under the supervision of Professor Alexander Vilenkin after defending his dissertation entitled “Topological defects and ultra-high energy cosmic rays.” That same year, he began his first postdoctoral position in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in the Cosmology group led by Professor Stephen Hawking at the University of Cambridge (UK). In 2003, he moved to New York (USA) to continue his research in cosmology as a James Arthur Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physics at New York University in the group of Professor Gia Dvali. In 2006, he obtained a permanent position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tufts University. In 2012, he was promoted (tenure) to Associate Professor. Also in 2012, he was appointed Ikerbasque Professor by the Ikerbasque Foundation and joined the Department of Theoretical Physics at the University of the Basque Country, where he is currently based.