A Search for Gravitational Radiation at LIGO: Oregon Experimental Relativity Group

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

During the next three years, the Oregon Experimental Relativity Group will collaborate with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, on the search for gravitational radiation with LIGO. Specifically, the Oregon group will play a large role in the development of an understanding of the environmental noise sources which would otherwise limit the sensitivity of LIGO. Environmental noise includes subtle effects such as stray magnetic field and cosmic ray interactions with detector elements which may limit LIGO's sensitivity after the initial phase of operation. The Oregon group will develop the environmental monitoring capabilities of LIGO in the the areas of weather monitoring, magnetic fields, seismic characterization, cosmic ray studies, and gravity-gradient noise. They will develop analysis techniques, analyze interferometer data sets, and investigate the influence of these environmental factors on data. They will search for gravity wave signals, including signals correlated with gamma ray bursts. With the construction of LIGO, a new era of sensitivity to gravitational radiation will begin. After LIGO commissioning, the first experiments attempting detection of the effects of gravity waves on the strain measurements in the LIGO interferometers will need careful analysis of noise-dominated data streams. This will require a careful characterization of the noise, including the many sources of environmental noise, and the correlation of these noise sources among interferometers.