Advanced Laser Gravitational Wave Observatories (Advanced LIGO) has officially been dedicated, and the facility plans to hunt for gravitational waves in hopes of unlocking secrets of our universe.
The California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed the National Science Foundation-funded facilities, and will use them to search for elusive gravitational waves. The discovery of these waves could provide key insights into phenomena such as supernovae and colliding black holes. The project will enhance LIGO's instrument sensitivity by a factor of at least 10, which could increase in the number of astrophysical candidates for gravitational wave signals a thousand-fold.
"Advanced LIGO represents a critically important step forward in our continuing effort to understand the extraordinary mysteries of our universe," said NSF Director France A. Córdova. "It gives scientists a highly sophisticated instrument for detecting gravitational waves, which we believe carry with them information about their dynamic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot be obtained by conventional astronomical tools."
Gravitational waves were first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 through his theory of General Relativity. He proposed gravitational waves are "ripples in the fabric of space and time" produced by violent events in the universe. As these waves travel to Earth, they carry information about occurrences such as supernovae and the collisions of black holes. Scientists have never directly detected gravitational waves, but have measured their influence on binary pulsar systems.
"This is an exciting time that is quite similar to when the astronomy community introduced radio astronomy," said Denise Caldwell, NSF division director for physics. "In much the same way that radio astronomy added another dimension to how scientists could observe celestial phenomena, Advanced LIGO also offers yet another, different perspective. We have found that each time we open a new window of observation, we are able to make discoveries that lead us to a new frontier."
