Why in news
Researchers confirmed the "gravitational wave background" of the universe, which is likely caused by the mergers of supermassive black holes in galaxies.
The study used the MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array—a galactic-scale detector—showing that the background of gravitational waves may be louder and more active than previously anticipated.
Ripples in Space and Time
Gravitational Waves: These are distortions in the fabric of space-time created by massive cosmic events, like black hole collisions or galaxy mergers.
Gravitational waves are emitted in different frequencies;
low-frequency waves from supermassive black holes are detectable with galactic-scale detectors,
high-frequency waves from smaller black holes were detected in 2015.
For the first time, evidence of slower, more powerful gravitational waves has been confirmed, offering deeper understanding of cosmic events.
Various research groups use pulsar behavior to detect these waves.
Black Holes, Galaxies, and Pulsars
Supermassive Black Holes: These black holes, with masses billions of times that of our Sun, reside at the centers of most galaxies.
Their mergers create gravitational waves that scientists study.
Galaxy Mergers and Gravitational Waves: When galaxies merge, their central supermassive black holes spiral towards each other, emitting slow, powerful gravitational waves.
Pulsars as Detectors: Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that emit consistent radiation pulses.
These pulses serve as cosmic "clocks," allowing scientists to detect distortions in space-time caused by passing gravitational waves.
Cosmic Ocean of Gravitational Waves: Instead of individual waves, astronomers expect to see a continuous background of waves caused by countless galactic mergers throughout the universe's history.
MeerKAT Radio Telescope
MeerKAT is a connected array of radio telescopes located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
It was originally known as the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT), that would consist of 20 receptors.
When the South African government increased the budget to allow the building of 64 receptors, the team renamed it “MeerKAT”, – i.e., “more of KAT”.
It is part of South Africa's contribution to the global Square Kilometre Array (SKA)project, which aims to build the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world.
It is a precursor instrument to the mid-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
It uses radio signals from space to study the evolution of the universe and everything it contains.
It comprises 64 dishes, each 13.5 metres in diameter, with maximum separations of 8 km.
The received signals travel to a subterranean processor building that combines them and allows the telescopes to work together as a single instrument.
It is currently the most powerful radio interferometer at centimeter wavelengths.
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