Lot's Wife Edition 2 2016

On the
shoulders of
giants
INTERVIEW
By Isaac Reichman
Dr. Eric Thrane, who lectures
in physics at Monash, was part
of the LIGO team that made the
groundbreaking discovery of
gravitational waves.
We spoke to him about coffee,
black holes, and the thrill of
discovery.
Photo supplied by Monash University
Dr. Thrane, what is a typical “day at the office” for you at LIGO?
I’ve spent only a couple months of my career actually visiting
LIGO. I carry out most of my work at Monash University. In
this respect, my typical day is probably similar to one at a
company like Google or Facebook: I meet with colleagues to
discuss strategies, I work on a computer to solve problems, and
I consume a lot of coffee.
What was the process that LIGO went through in order to ensure
that the gravitational wave they detected wasn’t simply random
noise or a misreading of the equipment?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and so
the vetting of this detection was extremely thorough. The
LIGO Collaboration (and our partners The Virgo Collaboration)
wrote an entire paper devoted just to this topic. To make a long
story short, there are no known detector artefacts that mimic
the very particular signature of binary black hole system,
and the fact that we see the same signal in two detectors on
opposite ends of the USA very strongly suggests that it was
astrophysical.
Can you describe how it felt when you saw the results that proved
gravitational waves?
It was a roller coaster ride: excitement, disbelief, relief. It’s also
important to point out that, at first, we didn’t know that the
signal was real. It took weeks of detective work to gain confidence.
Thus, the initial excitement was tempered with caution.
Einstein has now been completely vindicated. Where does astrophysics
and cosmology go from here?
As a gravitational-wave astronomer, vindicating Einstein is just
the beginning. With the first detection of gravitational waves,
we are opening up a new window on the Universe. Now we
can probe a side of the Universe we’ve never seen before. Who
knows what we’ll find.
How do you feel personally now that Einstein’s theoretical legacy is
completed?
It’s a source of pride to have any connection to Einstein. He’s
such a towering figure in physics.
To hear what gravitational waves
sound like, scan this code!
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