University of Pennsylvania Astrophysics Seminar

Thanks to the synergies between gravitational wave (GW) experiments, such as LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, and electromagnetic observations of transients and galaxies, a variety of novel cosmological measurements has recently become possible. Several of these measurements rely on the use of GW events as "standard sirens”. Following the detection of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a GW event, GW170817, the first “bright” standard siren measurement has been performed. We continue searching for optical counterparts to enable more bright siren analyses with the Gravitational Wave Multi-Messenger Astronomy DECam Survey (GW-MMADS), for which I will present our main results. Standard siren measurements for “dark" events, i.e. without a confirmed electromagnetic counterpart, can also be performed, using gravitational waves alone or with the aid of galaxy or Active Galactic Nuclei catalogs. I will present our latest bright and dark standard siren measurements, and provide forecasts for multi-messenger detections in the upcoming years.