Thesis Defense

Committee: Nevin Weinberg and Erik Katsavounidis (Co-Chairs),
Scott Hughes and Alan Guth
 

Abstract
Dynamical tidal effects impact the orbital motion of extended bodies, imprinting themselves in several measurable ways. This thesis explores the saturation of weakly nonlinear dynamical tidal interactions within two very different systems: hot Jupiters orbiting main-sequence hosts with radiative cores and compact stellar remnants inspiraling due to gravitational radiation. In addition, it discusses general aspects of detecting gravitational waves with ground-based laser interferometers. In particular, data quality and noise reduction along with source parameter estimation, with particular emphasis on localization, are discussed in great detail. Conclusions drawn from statistical ensembles of simulated signals are applied to the first three confirmed detections of Gravitational Waves, all from the coalescence of binary Black Hole systems.