Yanbei Chen Abstract

Yanbei Chen
California Institute of Technology

"Gravitational-Wave Astronomy"

An international array of ground-based laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors, targeting gravitational waves from around 40 Hz to several kHz, have recently reached their design sensitivity. In late 2007, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which contains the array's leading detectors completed its 2-year science run, at a peak design strain sensitivity of -10^ -21 (rms) at around 150 Hz. At this moment, LIGO is running with a moderate improvement from its initial sensitivity, while data from the previous run are still being analyzed. In the next several years, LIGO will be upgraded into Advanced LIGO, roughly 10 times more sensitive than initial LIGO, with first scientific data starting as early as 2013. A space-based detector, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), is also being planned, and targets waves from 0. mHz to 0.1 Haz. In this talk, I will discuss the physics of laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors and their main noise sources. I will also discuss possible gravitational wave sources and the prospect for detecting them.