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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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I will discuss the growing case for significant absorption of gravitational waves (GW) by stars. Stellar oscillation modes (e.g. the Solar 5 minute oscillation) can be treated as damped harmonic oscillators; when a GW impinges on a star, it provides a driving force for the oscillator. If the frequency of the incoming GW matches the stellar oscillator, resonant absorption will occur, and can become astrophysically significant. Some stellar oscillation modes may produce observable effects either through shadowing of GW sources or via EM re-radiation of energy absorbed from GW. Stars (including the Sun) may periodically eclipse GW sources; stars near GW sources may also serve as ‘in-situ’ detectors of GW emission, notably in quiescent galactic nuclei. I will elaborate the mechanisms for stellar absorption of GW, and discuss prospects for near- and far-future detection of these effects.
