Research on Gravitational Wave Detectors

该提案要求支持一位年轻的研究者和她的学生，他们正在进行一系列与激光干涉仪引力波天文台（LIGO）探测引力波的实验工作相关的项目。建议的活动包括：为使LIGO达到地面探测器的最终灵敏度目标，需要进行隔振系统的实验研究；开发反馈系统所需的新型光学传感器，以控制大型LIGO光学装置，从而在存在背景运动的情况下“锁定”干涉仪臂；开发新的诊断技术，以测量和评估产生重力梯度的地球运动，这可能会限制先进探测器的灵敏度；从存在背景噪声的LIGO数据流中提取引力波信号的分析技术的发展。PI是LIGO科学合作小组的领导者，该小组负责分析LIGO数据，寻找引力波“爆发”来源的证据，并为这些信号的振幅和速率设定上限。

This proposal requests support for a young investigator and her students who are working on a series of projects related to the experimental effort to detect gravitational waves with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The proposed activities include; experimental studies of vibration isolation systems needed to enable LIGO to reach its ultimate sensitivity goal for terrestrial based detectors; development of new optical sensors needed in feedback systems to control the large LIGO optics and thereby "lock" the interferometer arms in the presence of background motion; development of new diagnostic techniques to measure and evaluate earth-motion that produces gravitational gradients that may limit the sensitivity of advanced detectors; development of analysis techniques to extract gravitational wave signals from the LIGO data stream in the presence of background noise.The PI is a leader in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration group that is charged with analyzing LIGO data for evidence of "burst" sources of gravitational waves and setting upper limits on amplitude and rates of such signals.