Fundamental physics and astrophysics with Gravitational Waves from
coalescing binaries
Riccardo Sturani (ICTP UNESP)
The large interferometric detectors of gravitational waves LIGO and Virgo will resume data taking later this year after having taken data at lower sensitivity for few years until 2010. After giving an overview of the observational results obtained in past science runs, I will discuss coalescing binaries as the most likely sources for the first direct detection of gravitational waves. Beside opening the new field of gravitational astrophysics, waves emitted by compact stars and black holes in binary systems are an ideal probes of the fundamental gravity dynamics and their eventual repeated detection will allow to test General Relativity (or any other gravity theory) to unprecedented precision. It will be shown how accurate knowledge of the waveform is actually crucial in both enhancing detection probability and maximizing the (astro)physics outcome of a detection.