Related papers: LIGO's "Science Reach"
The goal of the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is to detect and study gravitational waves of astrophysical origin. Direct detection of gravitational waves holds the promise of testing general relativity in the…
The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detectors have just completed their first science run, following many years of planning, research, and development. LIGO is a member of what will be a worldwide network of…
LIGO --- The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory --- is one of several large projects being undertaken in the United States, Europe and Japan to detect gravitational radiation. The novelty and precision of these instruments…
The interferometers being planned for second generation LIGO promise and order of magnitude increase in broadband strain sensitivity--with the corresponding cubic increase in detection volume--and an extension of the observation band to…
Twenty years ago, construction began on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Advanced LIGO, with a factor of ten better design sensitivity than Initial LIGO, will begin taking data this year, and should soon make…
In 2009-2010, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observa- tory (LIGO) operated together with international partners Virgo and GEO600 as a network to search for gravitational waves of astrophysical origin. The sensitiv- ity of these…
In the last decade, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the European Virgo observatory have opened a new observational window on the universe. These cavity-enhanced laser interferometers sense spacetime…
We report on the status of the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the plans and progress towards Enhanced and Advanced LIGO. The initial LIGO detectors have finished a two year long data run during which a full…
The LIGO Research Community (LRC) is an independent organization of researchers interested in the scientific opportunities created by the construction and operation of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).…
Gravitational wave emission is expected to arise from a variety of astrophysical phenomena. A new generation of detectors with sensitivity consistent with expectation from such sources is being developed. The Laser Interferometer…
We show that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a powerful instrument in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). LIGO's ability to detect gravitational waves (GWs) from astrophysical sources, such…
The first generation of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors, LIGO, GEO and Virgo, have operated and taken data at their design sensitivities over the last few years. The data has been examined for the presence of…
The detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers by LIGO has opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy, revealing a previously hidden side of the cosmos. To maximize the reach of the existing LIGO observatory…
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) consists of two widely separated 4 km laser interferometers designed to detect gravitational waves from distant astrophysical sources in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10…
The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors have completed their initial upgrade phase and will enter the first observing run in late 2015, with detector sensitivity expected to improve in future runs.…
(abridged for arXiv) With the first direct detection of gravitational waves, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has initiated a new field of astronomy by providing an alternate means of sensing the…
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) was the first laboratory to measure the gravitational waves. It was needed an exceptional experimental design to measure distance changes much less than a radius of a proton. In the…
Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of earth-based gravitational wave observatories is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry.…
The Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors are nearing their design sensitivity and should begin taking meaningful astrophysical data in the fall of 2015. These resonant optical interferometers will have unprecedented sensitivity to the…
This article reviews current efforts and plans for gravitational-wave detection, the gravitational-wave sources that might be detected, and the information that the detectors might extract from the observed waves. Special attention is paid…