Gravitational Physics Exploring the Structure of Space and Time (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: Glossary
Appendix B: Glossary
Pages 104-114
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From page 104... ...
Binary Black Hole Alliance: a multidisciplinary collaboration among relativity theorists and computer scientists at eight institutions to develop algorithms and software for solving Einstein's equations on supercomputers. The alliance focused on the coalescence of two black holes in binary orbit about each other.
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From page 105... ...
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) : Named after American Nobel laureate Arthur Holly Compton, the Gamma Ray Observatory was launched by NASA in 1991 to study the spectrum, location, and nature of gamma-rays and gamma-ray bursts from astronomical sources.
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From page 106... ...
These observations imply that most of the mass of our Galaxy, and most of the mass of other galaxies, is made up of some kind of non-luminous matter or dark matter. Possible candidates for the dark matter range from subatomic particles to supermassive black holes.
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A receiver intercepting signals from four or more GPS satellites uses the information to determine its precise absolute location, in some circumstances to better than 15 meters. gravitational collapse: A star remains in equilibrium by balancing the inward pull of gravity against an outward pressure force.
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From page 108... ...
cosmic background radiation. gravitational Wilson loops: one-dimensional integrals of the quantum geometric variables around closed paths that are analogous to the similar quantities occurring in gauge theories.
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From page 109... ...
LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) : an NSF-sponsored project to build and operate two 4-kilometer laser interferometers to detect gravitational waves (for information online, see |
From page 110... ...
"no hair" theorem for black holes: the surprising result that no matter how complicated the initial physical situation that produces a black hole, the final black hole is described by only a few parameters. The simplest black holes are completely specified by only their mass, charge, and spin.
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From page 111... ...
If this quantity changes in time, the body emits gravitational waves. quantum cosmology: the area of physics and astrophysics concerned with a theory of the quantum initial state of the universe (q.v.)
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supermassive black holes: The cores of most galaxies appear to contain black holes with masses 1 million to 1 billion times the mass of our Sun. These supermassive black holes are thought to be the engines that power quasars.
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From page 113... ...
weakly interacting massive particles: hypothetical candidates for the dark matter. These particles are potentially detectable in underground dark matter searches.
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From page 114... ...
4 APPENDIX B X-ray binary: a double star in which one of the stars accretes matter from its companion and emits a copious amount of x-rays. The x-ray-emitting star is either a black hole or a neutron star.
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