High-energy follow-up studies of gravitational wave transient events

Abstract

Mergers of binary systems of compact objects are the most promising sources of gravitational waves (GWs) and are thought to be connected to some of the most energetic events in the universe: short Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). A definitive probe of this association is still missing and combined observations of gravitational and electromagnetic (EM) signals from these events are crucial to unveil the progenitors of short GRBs and study the physics of compact objects. We investigate the possibility of joint GW and EM observations of merging binary systems with the GW detectors Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo and with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on-board the Fermi γ-ray observatory.