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LIGO Updateby Fred Raab

Local Educators Network

LIGO Hanford Observatory

October 27, 2005

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LIGO is doing well

• LIGO construction and commissioning of the Initial LIGO detectors have been a success

• LIGO has built a large international collaboration of approximately 500 scientists on four continents and leads the world in gravitational wave research

• LIGO is embarking on a long search (more than one year) that may well make first detection of gravitational waves

• LIGO data analysis has provided the premier test drive for the national GRID-computing & Virtual Data infrastructure

• LIGO’s experimental technology development program has been a resounding success and continues to contribute to national technical capabilities

• NSF and NSB have recommended construction of Advanced LIGO, which will extend LIGO’s world-leading sensitivity by a huge factor and ensure that gravitational-wave astronomy takes off; scheduled by OMB for FY08 start

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LIGO Commissioning Has Succeeded!

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• First data analyzed Dec 2001» Local stellar neighborhood

• S1 August 2002» Entire Milky Way Galaxy

• S2 Feb-April 2003» First large external galaxy

• S3 Nov-Dec 2003» Numerous external galaxies

• S4 Feb-Mar 2005» Knocking on Virgo cluster

» Achieve robust duty cycle

• S5 Nov 2005 - ?» A year in the Virgo cluster

Progress toward our Science Goal—Distance LIGO can detect Binary Neutron Stars

M81

M31

Milky Way

Virgo cluster

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S5 range for binary neutron star inspirals will reach to ~35M light years (H1 and L1)

Image: R. Powell

S2 Range

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Recent NASA discoveries have heightened excitement for first GW detection

These NASA summaries describerecent types of events which are of interest to LIGO as potential sources

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Increased “Reach” for Advanced LIGO

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Funding Issues

• US funding for science has continued to erode» National Academy study chaired by Norman Augustine to investigate

consequences and remedies at request of US Senate

• LIGO has needed to tighten up & reduce operating staff

• OMB scheduled start for AdLIGO is a slip of one year from NSB recommendation

• UK funding of AdLIGO has already begun and progress toward funding by Germany continues

• LIGO Science Education Center funded ($5M) by NSF» Exploratorium has delivered first wave of exhibits» Active professional development program in place (Southern U. and LaSIP /

LaGEAR-UP)» Center construction begins next week

• LIGO Hanford Observatory funded ($50K) by NSF to develop GRID-based access to LIGO environmental data for “Interactions in Understanding the Universe”

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LIGO Management

• LIGO Laboratory & LIGO Scientific Collaboration managements have been restructured» Now LIGO has a single directorate including LSC Spokeperson

» Caltech/MIT LIGO Oversight Committee expanded to include LSC “stakeholder-institution” representation and at-large, non-voting LSC technical advisors

• Barry Barish has retired from Caltech» Barish will remain as emeritus professor and will direct the

International Linear Collider (ILC) construction effort

» Stan Whitcomb (formerly Deputy Director) is Acting Director

» LIGO Director Search Committee has made recommendations to Oversight Committee

» Hope to begin new year with new director