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Advanced LIGO: the Next Gravitational Wave Observatory
| Abstract: |
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) is an
ambitious project to measure gravitational waves from astrophysical
sources and use these measurements to open a new observational window
on the universe. Caused by accelerating masses, a gravitational wave
is a traveling disturbance in the metric of space-time. They were
predicted by Einstein, but because of their small amplitudes, have not
(yet) been directly measured. LIGO is a 4 km baseline, high-precision
laser interferometer designed to detect these waves. I will describe
the current LIGO project, and discuss Advanced LIGO, the proposed
major upgrade to the current observatory. To measure strains (relative
length changes) on the order of 10^-22, we are advancing state-of-the-
art technologies on many fronts, including active seismic isolation,
high power lasers, and optical systems designed to operated with over
800 kW of incident power. I will discuss some of these new advances,
and describe plans for the next decade of gravitational wave astronomy.
LIGO is supported by the National Science Foundation and administered
by Caltech.
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| Speaker: |
Brian Lantz - Stanford University |
| Speaker Bio: |
 Dr. Lantz (Ph.D. Physics, MIT, 1999) is a Senior Research Scientist at
Stanford University. He is the lead scientist for the Seismic
Isolation and Alignment System for Advanced LIGO.
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| Poster Link: |
Poster |
| Presentation: |
Presentation on 2/20/2008 (PDF)
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