Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Scientific paper
2002-02-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
final modifications; to appear in "A Relativistic Spacetime Odyssey", Eds. I. Ciufolini, D. Dominici, L. Lusanna, World Scient
Scientific paper
This contribution summarizes some recent work on gravitational-wave astronomy and, especially, on the generation and detection of relic gravitational waves. We begin with a brief discussion of astrophysical sources of gravitational waves that are likely to be detected first by the coming in operation laser interferometers, such as GEO, LIGO, VIRGO. Then, we proceed to relic gravitational waves emphasizing their quantum-mechanical origin and the inevitability of their existence. Combining the theory with available observations, we discuss the prospects of direct detection of relic gravitational waves. A considerable part of the paper is devoted to comparison of relic gravitational waves with the density perturbations of quantum-mechanical origin. It is shown how the phenomenon of squeezing of quantum-mechanically generated cosmological perturbations manifests itself in the periodic structures of the metric power spectra and in the oscillatory behaviour of the CMBR multipoles $C_l$ as a function of $l$. The cosmological importance of the theoretically calculated (statistical) dipole moment $C_1$ is stressed. The paper contains also some comments on the damage to gravitational-wave research inflicted by the "standard inflationary result". We conclude with the (now common) remarks on the great scientific importance of the continuing effort to observe relic gravitational waves, directly or indirectly.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Early Universe Odyssey With Gravitational Waves does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Early Universe Odyssey With Gravitational Waves, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Early Universe Odyssey With Gravitational Waves will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-538636