UK Involvement in the Operation of Advanced LIGO

通过设计和建造项目“Advanced LIGO UK”，英国通过转让最初为GEO 600开发的技术，成功地为美国的Advanced LIGO(ALIGO)探测器做出了根本性贡献。直接的结果是，英国企业能够充分利用未来十年将产生的丰富科学数据。因此，有一个独特的机会来确保英国科学家保持在引力波科学领域的领导地位，为英国提供必要的支持和基础设施，以保持对aLIGO探测器的全面参与，从而保持在用户社区小组-LIGO科学合作(LSC)中的积极合作伙伴，通过该组织获得和分发数据权。同样重要的是，需要确保英国提供的aLIGO探测器设备和设施得到充分利用，以最大限度地提高科学产出。无论是在aLIGO内实施，还是后来计划对aLIGO进行重新配置或升级时，都是如此。据设想，英国的设备在设计上符合所有长期项目目标，即使在这种升级之后仍将保持不变，而英国持续的技术支持将有助于确保这一点。LSC的英国成员很多，我们能够利用数据访问和科学回报在总硬件投资中进行相对较小的投资(在几个百分点的水平上)。此外，我们能够保持最高级别的参与，只需很少的额外投资，正如本提案中详细列出的那样。

Through the design and construction project 'Advanced LIGO UK,' the UK has succeeded in making fundamental contributions to the Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) detectors in the US by transfer of technology originally developed for GEO 600. As a direct result, UK groups are in a position to fully exploit the rich science data that will be produced over the coming decade. There is, therefore, a unique opportunity to ensure that UK scientists maintain leadership in gravitational wave science, by providing the support and infrastructure necessary for the UK to maintain full involvement in the operation of the aLIGO detectors and so to remain active partners in the user-community group, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), through which data rights are earned and distributed. Of equal importance is the need to ensure that UK delivered equipment and facilities for the aLIGO detectors are fully exploited to maximise the science output. This is true both in terms of their implementation within aLIGO, and later when it is planned that reconfiguration or upgrading of aLIGO will be undertaken. It is envisaged that the UK equipment which has been designed to meet all long-term project goals, will remain in place even following such upgrades, and continued UK technical support will help to ensure that is the case. The UK membership of the LSC is considerable, and we have been able to leverage data access and science return for a relatively small investment in the total hardware investment (at the few percent level). Further we are in a position to maintain involvement at the highest level for very modest additional investment, as set out in detail in this proposal.