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Artist’s impression of the explosion resulting from the collision of two neutron stars. Credit: D. Berry, O. Gottlieb, K. Mooley, G. Hallinan, NRAO / AUI / NSF
The National Radio Astronomical Observatory (NRAO) congratulates the four astronomers honored by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation for awarding them the 2022 New Horizons in Physics Prize. Alessandra Corsi of Texas Tech University; Gregg Hallinan and Mansi Manoj Kasliwal, both of Caltech; and Raffaella Margutti from the University of California, Berkeley, were recognized for their “leadership in laying the foundations for electromagnetic observations of sources of gravitational waves, and leadership in extracting rich information from the first observed collision of two neutron stars. “
The researchers made striking observations of the merger of two neutron stars in August 2017 and the long consequences of this merger. The event generated gravitational waves which were directly detected by the LIGO and the VIRGO gravitational wave observatories. When the event was later seen emitting gamma rays, x-rays, visible light, and radio waves, it became the first astronomical event ever to be seen with both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves.
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Alessandra Corsi. Credit: Texas Tech University
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Gregg Hallinan. Credit: Caltech
The winners used the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to study the consequences of fusion for months, providing key insight into the nature and consequences of the collision.
“This was a turning point in astrophysics, and the NRAO radio telescopes were essential tools in unraveling the inner workings of this exciting event. We are very pleased to see our fellow scientists who have made expert use of VLA and VLBA in this effort achieve this well-deserved recognition, ”said Tony Beasley, Director of NRAO.
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Mansi Manoj Kasliwal. Credit: Caltech
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Raffaella Margutti. Credit: UC Berkeley
“Events like this neutron star fusion are at the frontier of physics, where we can get valuable information available in no other way. We are proud that the VLA and VLBA are contributing to this research, and we look forward to bringing the greatly enhanced capabilities of the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) to work that is so important to our understanding of the Universe, ”added Beasley.
The National Radio Astronomical Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under a cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
