Scientists have developed a method that allows the use of existing gravitational wave detectors to observe constant deformations of space-time, caused by certain supernary ones. These deformations, known as the memory of gravitational waves, are an effect that changes the relative position of points in space. Although it was previously believed that their discovery would require a significantly higher sensitivity of future detectors, researchers from the University of Tennessee proposed a strategy that allows you to identify this effect now.
In the center of the study, there are gravitational waves that occur during explosions of massive stars, known as the collapse of the supernova nuclei. Such events are accompanied by asymmetric release of the neutrino and non-phase expansion of the shock wave, which leads to the formation of gravity memory. Scientists conducted complex simulations of three such explosions that differ in the mass of the original stars to study the nature of this phenomenon.
Results from simulations showed that existing LIGO, Virgo and Kagra detectors can be capable of fixing this effect if the data is processed using a unique combination of two analysis methods. These approaches help to select a weak memory signal against the background of stronger temporary signals of gravitational waves. The use of a new methodology not only expands knowledge about gravitational waves, but also opens up additional prospects for studying the processes occurring during explosions of massive stars in our galaxy.
The proposal has already aroused interest in scientific circles, as it can accelerate progress in this field without the need to wait for a new generation of equipment.