Thomas Tauris, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie / AIfA, Universität Bonn

Title: "Neutron Stars, Black Holes and Gravitational Waves"

Abstract:

The recently detected gravitational wave signals (GW150914 and GW151226) of the merger event of a pair of relatively massive stellar-mass black holes have revolutionized astrophysics by revealing new sources of fundamental importance for exploring the Universe. It is anticipated that within the next few years a global network of gravitational wave detectors will record hundreds of such events each year from merging neutron stars and black holes. This calls for an investigation of the formation of their progenitor systems. In this talk, I will discuss some of the physical processes behind the formation of neutron star and black hole binary systems. This includes exotic aspects of stellar physics, binary interactions, supernova explosions and accretion processes.