November of Science 2021
#knowember at the Albert Einstein Institute features seven online popular science lectures
This year's November will be #knowember for two weeks and provide insights into the university and science location Hannover and Potsdam. The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Hannover and Potsdam and the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz Universität Hannover are taking part and invite you to seven online lectures (four in German, three in English). From the big bang to black holes and neutron stars to tricks for measuring Einstein's gravitational waves. Tune in at your convenience, listen in, and ask your questions. We look forward to seeing you online!
Update (10 November): Due to unexpected events the lecture topic and the lecturer on 12 November have changed.
Talks in English language
The intricate dance of wobbling binary black holes (talk in English)
3 November, 19:00 CET Black holes are enigmatic objects that are also quite weird. When two of them get together in a binary, they circle each other and emit gravitational waves. This causes the orbit to shrink, eventually leading to a spectacular collision of the two black holes. If the black holes are rotating at the same time, this sets off an intricate dance between the black holes, causing the orbit to wobble like a top. All of this is imprinted on the emitted gravitational waves, which we can observe directly on Earth! Vijay Varma will talk about what happens when these wobbling black holes collide and how we can uncover the secrets of black hole astrophysics by observing their gravitational wave signals.
Testing general relativity with gravitational waves (talk in Englisch)
9 November, 19:00 CET Recently observed gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars by LIGO and VIRGO allow us to test the validity of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Krishnendu Naderi Varium will give an overview of how these tests work, what we have learned from them, and what they mean for future gravitational-wave detectors.
When neutron stars collide: cataclysms in space (talk in English)
11 November, 19:00 CET Neutron stars are some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Though they are approximately one-and-a- half times the mass of our sun, they are less than 30km across. With magnetic fields that are often more than 100 million times that of the earth's as well as surface gravitational fields 200 billion times stronger than earth's, they are fascinating objects on their own. Now imagine that two of them collide! The resulting cataclysm is not only bright enough to be seen millions of light-years away, but the blast sends ripples through the very fabric of spacetime itself that we can detect here on earth. Stephanie Brown will be explaining what neutron stars are, where they come from, and what exactly happens when they collide.Lectures live and online via BigBlueButton
The lectures will take place on the online platform BigBlueButton (also see the link to the FAQ on the right-hand side). It is based on open source software and hosted on servers of the Computing and IT Competence Center of the Max Planck Society at the GWDG.
To participate in the events, no new software needs to be installed on your device. All you need is an Internet connection, a browser and hardware for audio playback.
On November 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, and 12 starting at 19:00 CET the motto will be “Clear the stage for science!” for about one hour. Our lecturers look forward to your virtual visit and your questions. Advance registration is not required.
How do I participate in the online talks?
- Open the link to the online room in your browser. The room will be opened approx. 20 minutes before the event starts.
- Enter a name in the corresponding field and click “Teilnehmen”
- In the window “Wie möchten Sie der Konferenz beitreten?” click on “Nur Zuhören”. If you have selected “Mit Mikrofon”, please make sure that your microphone is muted.
- Wait for a moment... you are ready.
Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the talk! You can ask questions in writing via the public chat (second column from left). If the chat column is not visible, click on “Öffentlicher Chat” in the column on the far left, then the chat column will open.
The lectures are not recorded by the institute. We would like to ask you to refrain from non-private recordings.
All talks and dates
Der Anfang des Universums (talk in German)
1 November, 19:00 CET Hat das Universum tatsächlich mit einem Knall angefangen? Dieser und andere Mythen zur Entstehung des Universums werden anhand Ideen der modernen Physik von Jean-Luc Lehners diskutiert. Er beschreibt unser aktuelles Verständnis des Urknalls, also der Entstehung unseres Universums, und die Rolle der Quantenmechanik dabei.The intricate dance of wobbling binary black holes (talk in English)
3 November, 19:00 CET Black holes are enigmatic objects that are also quite weird. When two of them get together in a binary, they circle each other and emit gravitational waves. This causes the orbit to shrink, eventually leading to a spectacular collision of the two black holes. If the black holes are rotating at the same time, this sets off an intricate dance between the black holes, causing the orbit to wobble like a top. All of this is imprinted on the emitted gravitational waves, which we can observe directly on Earth! Vijay Varma will talk about what happens when these wobbling black holes collide and how we can uncover the secrets of black hole astrophysics by observing their gravitational wave signals.
Mit E.T. auf der Spur von Gravitationswellen (talk in German)
4 November, 19:00 CET In diesem Vortrag von Janis Wöhler und Juliane von Wrangel geht es darum, wie wir Gravitationswellen auf der Erde nachweisen. Bereits mehrere Dutzend kosmische Ereignisse haben Forscher:innen mithilfe von Laser-Experimenten gemessen. Aktuelle Forschung an Quantentechnologien verspricht, in Zukunft bis an den Rand unseres Universums schauen zu können. Die Physiker:innen des Albert-Einstein-Instituts entwickeln dazu einen Detektor-Prototypen, mit dem sie an die Quanten-Grenze des Lichtes vorstoßen. Künftig wird das Einstein-Teleskop (ET), ein europäisches Projekt, mit diesen Technologien unseren Blick auf den Kosmos erweitern.
Neutronensterne – ganz besondere Himmelsobjekte (talk in German)
8 November, 19:00 CET Gabriel Bihain begibt sich mit Ihnen auf die Spur der Neutronensterne – ungewöhnliche Himmelsobjekte, die in Sternexplosionen geboren werden. Stimmt es, dass Neutronensterne gerade einmal so groß wie Hannover sind? Wie weit könnte man sich einem Neutronenstern nähern? Welche Bedeutung haben sie in unserer Galaxie? Können wir bald ihre kontinuierlichen Gravitationswellen beobachten?Testing general relativity with gravitational waves (talk in Englisch)
9 November, 19:00 CET Recently observed gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars by LIGO and VIRGO allow us to test the validity of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Krishnendu Naderi Varium will give an overview of how these tests work, what we have learned from them, and what they mean for future gravitational-wave detectors.When neutron stars collide: cataclysms in space (talk in English)
11 November, 19:00 CET Neutron stars are some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Though they are approximately one-and-a- half times the mass of our sun, they are less than 30km across. With magnetic fields that are often more than 100 million times that of the earth's as well as surface gravitational fields 200 billion times stronger than earth's, they are fascinating objects on their own. Now imagine that two of them collide! The resulting cataclysm is not only bright enough to be seen millions of light-years away, but the blast sends ripples through the very fabric of spacetime itself that we can detect here on earth. Stephanie Brown will be explaining what neutron stars are, where they come from, and what exactly happens when they collide.
Die Zukunft der Gravitationswellenastronomie (talk in German)
12 November, 19:00 CET Das Netzwerk der irdischen Gravitationswellen-Detektoren hat einige Dutzend Verschmelzungen Schwarzer Löcher und Neutronensterne beobachtet. Viele mehr werden folgen, doch welche weiteren Signale und Entdeckungen können wir erwarten und was verraten sie uns über das Universum? Antworten auf diese Fragen und Blicke auf die Signal-Wunschliste der Gravitationsphysiker:innen gibt es in diesem Vortrag von Benjamin Knispel.November of Science
The November of Science is a project of the Initiative Wissenschaft, in which all Hanover universities, Fraunhofer ITEM, the Volkswagen Foundation, the Studentenwerk, hannoverimpuls GmbH, and the City of Hanover are involved. The format has been held every two years since 2008. The complete and always up-to-date program of the November of Science 2021 with the AEI lectures and all other events can be found on hannover.de.