Sarah Burke Spolaor
(NASA-JPL)
11/09/2013, 14:00
Gravitational Waves
Oral
Pulsars rotating at periods of a few milliseconds have proven to act as
precise celestial clocks. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs), use multiple pulsars distributed
throughout the sky to detect disturbances in the pulsar-local space-time, and
correlated disturbances in Earth's perceived location. PTAs are uniquely sensitive
to the low-frequency (nHz-uHz) gravitational wave spectrum, and are...
Michael Landry
(LIGO Hanford Observatory)
11/09/2013, 14:20
Gravitational Waves
Oral
Since October 2010, the LIGO observatory sites in Livingston LA and
Richland WA have been thoroughly occupied with the installation of second-generation
interferometric gravitational wave detectors, or Advanced LIGO. Increasingly however,
those sites are undergoing a phase transition. As more detector payloads are installed
and tested in-vacuum, we are entering new and more complex...
Mr
Matheus Blom
(Nikhef Amsterdam, Virgo)
11/09/2013, 14:40
Gravitational Waves
Oral
The Virgo gravitational wave detector near Pisa Italy is a Michelson interferometer, whose arms are 3km long Fabry-Perot cavities. Currently, a large upgrade of the detector is being undertaken to increase its sensitivity by a factor 10 and its expected detection rate by a factor 1000! This enhanced detector is known as Advanced Virgo. Together with its American counterpart, Advanced LIGO, it...
Jeff Livas
(NASA-GSFC)
11/09/2013, 15:00
Gravitational Waves
Oral
The direct observation of gravitational waves in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz band is possible only from space. This band is expected to be rich with astrophysical sources that will yield a wealth of astrophysical information measured with an accuracy and precision that can be obtained no other way. The Laser Interferometric Space Antenna (LISA) mission concept remains the reference design for this...
Dr
Eric Thrane
(Caltech)
11/09/2013, 15:20
Gravitational Waves
Oral
Second-generation gravitational-wave detectors such as Advanced
LIGO and Advanced Virgo are scheduled to begin taking data by 2015. An
expected ten-fold improvement in strain sensitivity, along with a broader
observing band, will enable a wealth of astronomical observations including
the possibility of direct detection of the stochastic gravitational-wave background.
The stochastic...
