引力波探测:引力波天文学的新时代

Gravitational wave detections: A new age of gravitational wave astronomy

美国LIGO于2016年2月11日宣布首次探测到了引力波,引起全世界范围的广大反响。本文解答从什么是引力波、引力波是如何产生的、人类为什么坚持不懈地探测引力波、如何探测引力波,介绍国内外引力波探测的现状,并对引力波探测的未来进行展望。

On February 11, 2016 the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory （LIGO） in the United States announced the first direct detection of gravitational waves. This discovery attracted public attention. In this paper, we try to answer the following questions： What are gravitational waves？ How are gravitational waves produced？ Why and how do scientists detect gravitational waves？ Moreover, we introduce the current status and prospects of gravitational wave detections.