Related papers: Free-flight experiments in LISA Pathfinder
We describe a new space gravitational wave observatory design called LAGRANGE that maintains all important LISA science at about half the cost and with reduced technical risk. It consists of three drag-free spacecraft in the most stable…
Two homodyne Michelson interferferometers aboard the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft will measure the the positions of two free-floating test masses, as part of the NASA ST7 mission. The interferometer is required to measure the separation…
Cubic gold-platinum free-falling test masses (TMs) constitute the mirrors of future LISA and LISA-like interferometers for low-frequency gravitational wave detection in space. High-energy particles of Galactic and solar origin charge the…
LISA is a space-based mHz gravitational-wave observatory, with a planned launch in 2034. It is expected to be the first detector of its kind, and will present unique challenges in instrumentation and data analysis. An accurate preflight…
We report on the development of the LISA Technology Package (LTP) experiment that will fly on board the LISA Pathfinder mission of the European Space Agency in 2008. We first summarize the science rationale of the experiment aimed at…
In this article we describe the first investigations of the complete engineering model of the Optical Metrology System (OMS), a key subsystem of the LISA Pathfinder science mission to space. The latter itself is a technological precursor…
Here we describe the mission design for SMART-2/LISA Pathfinder. The best trade-off between the requirements of a low-disturbance environment and communications distance is found to be a free-insertion Lissajous orbit around the first…
For testing gravity and detecting gravitational waves in space, deep-space laser ranging using drag-free spacecraft is a common method. Deep space provides a large arena and a long integration time. Laser technology provides measurement…
In this paper we present a data analysis approach applicable to the potential saddle-point fly-by mission extension of LISA Pathfinder (LPF). At the peak of its sensitivity, LPF will sample the gravitational field in our Solar System with a…
The LISA mission is the future space-based gravitational wave (GW) observatory of the European Space Agency. It is formed by 3 spacecraft exchanging laser beams in order to form multiple real and virtual interferometers. The data streams to…
This article presents a detailed overview and assessment of contact-free UV light discharge systems (UVDS) needed to control the variable electric charge level of free-flying test masses which are part of high precision inertial sensors in…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is being designed to detect and study in detail gravitational waves from sources throughout the Universe such as massive black hole binaries. The conceptual formulation of the LISA space-borne…
A torsion pendulum allows ground-based investigation of the purity of free-fall for the LISA test masses inside their capacitive position sensor. This paper presents recent improvements in our torsion pendulum facility that have both…
The drag-free satellites of LISA will maintain the test masses in geodesic motion over many years with residual accelerations at unprecedented small levels and time delay interferometry (TDI) will keep track of their differential positions…
Space-based interferometric gravitational wave instruments such as the ESA/NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) observe gravitational waves by measuring changes in the light travel time between widely-separated spacecraft. One…
LISA is an upcoming ESA mission that will detect gravitational waves in space by interferometrically measuring the separation between free-falling test masses at picometer precision. To reach the desired performance, LISA will employ the…
The orbital motion of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) introduces modulations into the observed gravitational wave signal. These modulations can be used to determine the location and orientation of a gravitational wave source.…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a European Space Agency mission that aims to measure gravitational waves in the millihertz range. Laser frequency noise enters the interferometric measurements and dominates the expected…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be a transformative experiment for gravitational wave astronomy, and, as such, it will offer unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a completely novel way. The…
A main scientific output of the LISA Pathfinder mission is to provide a noise model that can be extended to the future gravitational wave observatory, LISA. The success of the mission depends thus upon a deep understanding of the…