Gravitational Waves and Binary Black Holes

JOINT ICMAT-IFT Colloquium.

Gravitational waves and Black Holes are two of the most novel
predictions of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. These
predictions emerged with the discovery of General Relativity
in 1916. However, it took fifty years to grasp their physical
meaning and 100 years to obtain direct evidence for their reality.
After reviewing the historical path that led to our understanding of gravitational waves and black holes, the talk will outline the theoretical developments that have been crucial in interpreting the transient
events detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), and by the Virgo interferometer, as being gravitational
wave signals emitted by the coalescence of two black holes.