Colloquium with Dr. Charles Kilpatrick, CIERA Fellow, Northwestern University

The promise of multi-messenger astronomy was spectacularly realized in 2017 with the detection of a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, simultaneously localized by LIGO/Virgo in gravitational waves and telescopes observing across the electromagnetic spectrum. This single event led to ground-breaking new discoveries in the physics of compact objects, synthesis of heavy elements, and cosmology. The challenges of extending these discoveries to a large population of electromagnetic counterparts will require new observing and analysis techniques, instrumentation, and collaborations. On the heels of this seminal discovery, Dr. Kilpatrick will discuss our results from the most recent LIGO/Virgo observing run to detect new gravitational wave counterparts and the ongoing efforts to rapidly coordinate a global networks of telescopes, identify their multi-wavelength counterparts, and use these observations to further expand our understanding of compact objects and fundamental physics. Dr. Kilpatrick will then discuss new facilities and observational programs, where I am leading efforts to extend search and follow up into the X-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared. These include wide-field, multi-wavelength counterpart searches in the ground and space, JWST imaging and spectra for well-localized counterparts, and an ongoing infrared time-domain survey with hundreds of infrared spectra for comparison to candidate gravitational wave counterparts.