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| Scientists of the LIGO Science Collaboration introduce the first observation of gravity wave at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on Feb. 11. Researchers said Thursday they detected another gravity wave generated by a clash between two massive black holes about 1.4 billion light years away from the earth for the second time in history. / AP-Yonhap |
Black holes, supernovae to be observable with gravity waves
By Yoon Sung-won
A gravity wave, an astronomical phenomenon produced by a fusion of two black holes, has been observed for the second time by a global joint research team, according to the Korean Gravitational Wave Group (KGWG), Thursday.
As the astronomical phenomenon, of which Albert Einstein predicted the existence a century ago, has been repeatedly confirmed, scientists said it shows that black holes are merging more frequently than expected.
"Korean researchers have projected that gravity waves can be generated much more frequently than expected," said KGWG President Lee Hyung-mok, an astronomy professor at Seoul National University. "The observations of two black hole mergers have proven that our projection was correct."
Last September, the KGWG said the joint research team had observed a gravity wave for the first time in human history at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detector, a large-scale physics experiment and observatory facility, in Louisiana. The second observation was also made at the same facility, the KGWG said.
According to Einstein's theory, a binary system of two black holes collapses in time as they lose energy while orbiting and merge with each other.
Experts expected that the monitoring of gravity waves will enable humans to observe invisible objects and phenomena like black holes and supernovae.
"Gravity waves will be observed routinely as the capability of the detector improves," said John Oh, senior researcher at the National Institute of Mathematical Science (NIMS). "The detection of gravity waves will not end as a one-time event. It will be an important method of observing the universe."
Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) Principal Researcher Kang Gung-won said, "We believe that the existence of gravity waves has been confirmed with the second observation. We expect a research environment here where we can concentrate on the research of cutting-edge sciences like gravity wave observation."
The research of gravity waves has been led by the LIGO Science Collaboration, a group consisting of more than 1,000 scientists from 14 countries, and the Virgo Collaboration in Europe.
The KGWG, which consists of some 20 experts from Seoul National University, Hanyang University, Pusan National University, Inje University, KISTI and NIMS, has participated in the observation of gravity waves since 2009.
For the observation project, the KGWG has developed a software program to analyze observation data and has monitored observation devices. KISTI has established a computing system connected to LIGO's data grid to estimate the physical quantity of black holes, while the mathematical science institute has worked to develop programs that remove noise from the data.
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