Speaker
Description
Core-collapse supernovae
Expectations of detections of gravitational waves (GWs) originating from
core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) have been growing. Whilst detections
with current interferometers limit the frequency range and also limit the
distance to that of galactic origin or its vicinity, estimates of detectable GWs
from CCSNe are of the order of a handful per century. This would seem
to indicate that we are long overdue for such a detection. It may be that
such events are buried in the data or could have been mis-characterised.
However, recent work done also indicates that a previously unaccounted for effect
could revise the expectation downward. Although GWs are, in general, not
expected to interact with matter, there are instances where the effect has to
be taken into account. In a series of investigations, we have shown the novel
result leading to viscous effects and gravitation wave heating in CCSNe.
These are scenarios that may diminish or altogether mask GWs from CCSNe
events. Our understanding of CCSNe events has undergone several revisions
in recent years and processes in the proto-neutron star (PNS) leading to
CCSNe are still not fully understood. GWs carry important information
that could illuminate the processes within the PNS and provide data on the
nature and composition of the core.