A Chandra Lecture

The Warped side of the Universe
by Professor Kip Thorne
The Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus
California Institute of Technology, USA

Venue: Chandrasekhar Auditorium, IUCAA, University of Pune campus
             Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 6:00 p.m.

Entry by free passes available at IUCAA

Abstract: There is a Warped Side to our Universe: objects and phenomena that are made from warped Space and warped Time, instead of from Matter. Examples are Black Holes, the Big Bang in which our Universe was born, and ripples in the fabric of space-time called Gravitational Waves. This talk will describe what surprising predictions are coming out of supercompter simulations about the Warped Side - viz. that when two black holes collide, they create vortices of twisting space attached to the merged black hole, and these slosh and whirl emitting Gravitational Waves! The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and its international partners, will open the Gravitational-Wave window onto our Universe, enabling humans for the first time, to explore its Warped Side.

Professor Kip Thorne is a leading expert on Einstein's General theory of Relativity. His research has uncovered a range of astrophysical phenomena with deep and far reaching ramifications that have generated immense public interest. He is best known in public for his exciting, exotic, suggestion that Worm Holes can be used for Time Travel. In 1973, Professor Thorne co-authored the classic book "Gravitation", from which most of the present generation of scientists have learned the General theory of Relativity. He is internationally regarded as a prime driver of Gravitational-Wave astronomy. While being active in research, he is also engaged in the production of a sci-fi movie with Steven Spielberg.