Simulate thespace-time conditions of black hole systems in a supercomputeris one of the ways by which the scientific community could detect these regions of space, which are of enormous density and which concentrate a large amount of mass inside, generating a gravitational field such thatno particle, not even light, can escape them. This is the case of the supercomputer ‘Finis Terrae’ from the Galicia Supercomputing Center (CESGA), with which scientists Ulrich Sperhake and Carlos F. Sopuerta, from the Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (CSIC-IEEC) of Barcelona, work to run these simulations.
? Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity predicts that astrophysical objects such as neutron stars and black holes emitgravitational radiation, ripples in the geometry of space-timethat travel through the universe at the speed of light ?, explains Ulrich Sperhake. These waves are observed when producing deformations in the shape and size of terrestrial and space detectors, and they are so small that they make it necessary to know in advance the details of their structure. In this way, gravitational waves can be identified in laser interferometer measurements. The strongest gravitational waves are those produced bytwo black hole systems.
With the help of supercomputers, it is possible to deduce exactly how black holes are moving, what signals of gravitational waves they are emitting, and what shape these waves have when they reach Earth. The information thus obtained is passed on to the scientists who operate the laser detectors, who look for these waveforms in the data they obtain.
