Scientists at Syracuse University were part of the team that recently discovered evidence of the creation of gold and platinum through the collision of neutron stars, the first time scientists identified a neutron star collision.

Physics professors Duncan Brown and Stefan Ballmer, alongside Vice President for Research John Liu and SU alumnus Jaysin Lord, discussed the group’s findings at a panel discussion in Goldstein Auditorium on Monday.

Gold and platinum were created after two neutron stars the size of Syracuse collided at one-third the speed of light, Brown said. The force of the collision threw materials into the universe, creating stars, galaxies and heavier elements.

“We have a fundamental piece of our knowledge of the universe,” Brown said. “Another piece of the jigsaw puzzle.”

Per a fact sheet handed out at the event, the scientists initially believed supernovas — the explosive death of a star — created heavier elements. They discovered heavier elements were the byproducts of the collision of neutron stars, which are the collapsed cores of supernovae and the smallest and densest stars.

Neutron star collisions detected occurred billions of years ago, but its effects are seen today in the ripple of gravitational waves and the gold inside the earth.

Brown, Ballmer and Peter Saulson, another physics professor, were part of the Nobel Prize-winning team that detected gravitational waves for the first time last year.

They were not direct recipients of the award, but they worked with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory that detected the waves. The LIGO team discovered ripples, or gravitational waves, after two black holes collided.

LIGO is a collaborative project between the National Science Foundation and more than 50 higher education and research institutions around the world.

Lord helped create computational systems to help them evaluate gravitational waves data more efficiently. Saulson was unable to attend the event at SU because he was attending the national press conference in Washington, D.C.

Discoveries like these could help scientists learn about the origin of life and the creation of the universe, Brown said.

“The more we learn about science, the more we can apply those technologies to our everyday lives,” Brown said.

Black holes make strong gravitational waves, but the neutron star collision created a louder wave because of its closer proximity to earth, Brown said. The collision was about 130 million light years away.

LIGO, along with the Europe-based Virgo detector, then pinpointed the sky location, he said.

“My jaw just dropped. I was completely shocked,” Brown said. “I didn’t think we were going to see this for another five years or so.”

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Karin Ruhlandt said SU had the nation’s first general relativity research group. It was founded by Peter Bergmann, a colleague of Albert Einstein.

“Today is a golden moment for many sciences, including chemistry, earth sciences, material science and engineering,” SU Chancellor Kent Syverud said.

Published on October 16, 2017 at 11:06 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001