WATCH: CCA Colloquium with Andrew MacFadyen
Gas dynamics and electromagnetic signatures of gravitational wave sources.
Abstract: I will present numerical simulations of the gas dynamics and electromagnetic signatures of gravitational wave sources. I will discuss the merging neutron star system GW170817 and present evidence from the afterglow of GRB170817A that a successful highly beamed off-axis relativistic jet was produced. I will then discuss binary black hole accretion and show that binaries embedded in gas should remain electromagnetically active throughout the merging process.