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LIGO “First Lock”. Barry Barish 21 October 2000. LIGO. LIGO is operated by MIT & Caltech for the National Science Foundation. Hanford Observatory. Livingston Observatory. LIGO Livingston Observatory. LIGO Hanford Observatory. LIGO beam tube.
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LIGO“First Lock” Barry Barish 21 October 2000
LIGO LIGO is operated by MIT & Caltech for the National Science Foundation Hanford Observatory Livingston Observatory
LIGObeam tube LARGEST HIGH VACUUM SYSTEM IN THE WORLD ~ 16,000 CUBIC METERS • LIGO beam tube under construction in January 1998 • 65 ft spiral welded sections • girth welded in portable clean room in the field NO LEAKS !! 1.2 m diameter - 3mm stainless 50 km of weld
Detection of Gravitational Waves precision optical instrument LIGO interferometer • LIGO (4 km) will be able to detect a stretch (squash) of 10-18 m !! ( a small fraction of the size of a proton) • This will enable detection of gravitational waves from a distance as far as 600 Million light years
Einstein’s Theory of Gravitation Newton’s Theory “instantaneous action at a distance” Einstein’s Theory information carried by gravitational radiation at the speed of light
Evolution of Stars nuclear burning vs gravity • Helium Burning Main Sequence in massive stars, a series of • nuclear burning stages transforms the star into an onion-like shell structure, until Silicon and Sulfur burning create a core of iron (and other iron-peak elements. • Each successive nuclear burning stage releases less energy than the previous stage, so the lifetime in each stage becomes progressively shorter. For a 20 M star: Main sequence lifetime ~ 10 million years Helium burning (3-) ~ 1 million years Carbon burning ~ 300 years Oxygen burning ~ 2/3 year Silicon burning ~ 2 days
explosion of a star supernova sequence gravitational waves n’s light
SN 1987A Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) First SN with observations of star that exploded - Sk -69 202 Supergiant with T = 16000K Luminosity = 100,000L Mass ~ 20M
Supernovae Observations Kepler Super Nova Remnant HISTORICAL SUPERNOVAE (OUR GALAXY) • SN1006 - Centaurus in the southern sky • SN1054 - The Crab Supernova in Taurus recorded by Chinese and Native American astronomers • SN 1572 - Tycho’s Supernova, studied in detail by Tycho Brahe • SN 1604 - Kepler’s Supernava • +other possible Milky Way supernovae • our galaxy 1/50 years • within Virgo Cluster ~ 1 year Cygnus Loop Remnant
Supernova Remnants pulsars PSR 0329+54 is among the strongest known pulsars (radio signal – Arecibo)
Birth and Death of Stars time evolution Supernovae
Supernovae gravitational waves Non axisymmetric collapse ‘burst’ signal Rate 1/50 yr - our galaxy 3/yr - Virgo cluster
LIGO Plansmajor milestones • Funding Approved by NSF • 1996 Began Construction • 1999 Construction Complete (vacuum achieved in LIGO) • 2000 “First Lock” (complete operating LIGO interferometer) • 2001 First Coincidence (both LIGO sites) • 2002+ Initiate Search for Gravitational Waves (Science !)