Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100217
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$850,000.00
Summary
Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+. This project aims to improve the sensitivity of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (aLIGO). aLIGO’s detection of gravitational waves proved general relativity in the strong field limit and the existence of black hole binary systems. The increased sensitivity will enable daily detections and new classes of events, opening the field of gravitational wave astronomy. Since telescopes can detect only 5% of the stuff in the univer ....Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+. This project aims to improve the sensitivity of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (aLIGO). aLIGO’s detection of gravitational waves proved general relativity in the strong field limit and the existence of black hole binary systems. The increased sensitivity will enable daily detections and new classes of events, opening the field of gravitational wave astronomy. Since telescopes can detect only 5% of the stuff in the universe, this is expected to greatly improve understanding of the universe. This Australian partnership will put its physicists and astronomers at the vanguard of this field and inspire the next generation to study the physical sciences.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100032
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$990,000.00
Summary
Australian partnership in advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) - continuation. Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Obervatory (LIGO) will be the first gravitational wave observatory capable of frequent observation of known sources of gravitational waves leading to the birth of gravitational wave astronomy. By playing a key role in this facility, Australia will reap the scientific rewards of being part of the most exciting frontier of physics in the 2 ....Australian partnership in advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) - continuation. Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Obervatory (LIGO) will be the first gravitational wave observatory capable of frequent observation of known sources of gravitational waves leading to the birth of gravitational wave astronomy. By playing a key role in this facility, Australia will reap the scientific rewards of being part of the most exciting frontier of physics in the 21st century.Read moreRead less
Instrumentation for the era of gravitational wave science. This project aims to study noise sources that limit the low-frequency performance of gravitational wave antenna: thermal noise, quantum radiation pressure noise and Newtonian noise. Gravitational wave detection is a new way in which to observe our universe. Although detectors such as advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) should detect gravitational waves, further sensitivity improvement, particularly at low ....Instrumentation for the era of gravitational wave science. This project aims to study noise sources that limit the low-frequency performance of gravitational wave antenna: thermal noise, quantum radiation pressure noise and Newtonian noise. Gravitational wave detection is a new way in which to observe our universe. Although detectors such as advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) should detect gravitational waves, further sensitivity improvement, particularly at low frequencies, will be needed to provide event rates necessary for astronomy. Expected project outcomes will support the development of the first free mass interferometer to operate at 120K using silicon optics, a vital facility for the world community. Pushing the boundaries of measurement may also drive innovation in optical sensing with potential applications in defence, security and exploration.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100002
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+: continuation. The aim of this project is, in collaboration with the USA and UK, to complete the installation and commissioning of the Advanced LIGO+ facilities in the USA in order to bring them to design sensitivity. These facilities expect to increase the event rate of gravitational wave signals by a factor of 125. This should lead to daily detections and the observation of new sources of gravitational waves. Given that only 5% of the universe is detect ....Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+: continuation. The aim of this project is, in collaboration with the USA and UK, to complete the installation and commissioning of the Advanced LIGO+ facilities in the USA in order to bring them to design sensitivity. These facilities expect to increase the event rate of gravitational wave signals by a factor of 125. This should lead to daily detections and the observation of new sources of gravitational waves. Given that only 5% of the universe is detectable by telescopes, the impact of gravitational wave detections on our understanding of the universe is inestimable. Australian partnership intends to enable our physicists and astronomers to be at the vanguard of this brand new field and inspire a new generation to study the physical sciences.Read moreRead less
Realisation of an ultra-stable local oscillator using an ultra-low vibration pulse-tube cryocooler. This project will complete the development of a new type of ultra-low-noise ultra-stable microwave oscillator cooled with an ultra-low vibration cryostat and cryocooler. The resulting oscillator will have wide application, but especially to atomic fountain clocks and to very high frequency Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio astronomy.
Creating a national time and frequency network for Australia. This project will develop the means to distribute accurate time and frequency across the Australian continent via an optical fibre network. This network will meet the needs of future telecommunications, science and astronomy projects including the Australian bid for the Square Kilometre Array radio-astronomy project.