Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory

LIGO Observatory US (Courtesy: LIGO US)

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), INDIA is a large-scale physics experiment aiming to detect gravitational waves directly.  LIGO detector is 4-km arm-length Michelson Interferometer with Fabry-Perot enhanced cavities and aims to detect the space strain sensitivity better than 10–24 Hz–1/2.

LIGO-India is a collaborative project between LIGO USA and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) (Govt. of India) for establishing an Advanced LIGO detector in India similar to that of LIGO-US (Hanford & Livingston observatories).

India’s major institutes (Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore, Directorate of Construction Services and Estate Management (DCSEM), Mumbai and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune) are participating in installation, commissioning and operation of the Gravitational Wave detector.

IPR’s Contribution: IPR is primarily responsible for the development of the following tasks: