Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, STFC Equipment Call 2018

2015年9月14日，LIGO直接探测到引力波(GWS)，完成了对爱因斯坦广义相对论基本预测的实验证实。通过这次观测，以及随后的五个信号，我们证明了重恒星质量黑洞的存在，并确立了双星黑洞可以在哈勃时间内形成和合并。2017年8月17日，我们探测到了GW170817，这是首次观测到的双星中子星合并。LIGO-Virgo的低延迟三维天空定位使我们能够发现其光学对应物并确定其宿主星系，随后对合并后的残余物进行了一次引人注目的全电磁光谱观测活动，GW的观测已经改变了我们对黑洞、中子星、它们的形成和演化、最极端条件下的物质状态以及在以前未测试的区域中的动态、强场引力行为的理解。然而，一旦GW探测器的灵敏度得到提高，这种知识将得到进一步的发展。目前，LIGO的灵敏度会因30赫兹以下的技术控制噪声而降低。在较高的频率下，灵敏度受到电磁场的基本真空涨落触发的量子噪声的限制。如果不开发新技术，未来的GW天文台，如欧洲的爱因斯坦望远镜或美国的LIGO旅行者和宇宙探测器，将面临类似的限制。在这个方案中，我们试图通过实验演示两项新技术：6自由度(6D)地震仪和量子过滤器。未来，6D地震仪和量子过滤器将提高单个GW震源的信噪比，扩大探测器的天体物理覆盖范围，并将极大地增加震源在波段的时间，对电磁后续行动产生壮观的后果。

On September 14, 2015 LIGO directly detected gravitational waves (GWs), completing the quest for the experimental confirmation of a fundamental prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity.With this observation, followed by another five signals, we have shown the existence of heavy stellar-mass black holes, and established that binary black holes can form and merge within a Hubble time. On August 17, 2017, we detected GW170817, the first observed coalescence of a binary neutron star. The LIGO-VIRGO low-latency 3-dimensional sky localisation enabled the discovery of its optical counterpart and the identification of its host galaxy, which was followed by a remarkable observational campaign of the post-merger remnant across the full electromagnetic spectrum GW observations are already transforming our understanding of black holes, neutron stars, their formation and evolution, the state of matter in the most extreme conditions, and the behaviour of dynamical, strong-field gravity in previously untested regimes. However, this knowledge will be even further advanced once the sensitivity of the GW detectors is improved. Currently, the LIGO sensitivity is diminished by technical control noises below 30 Hz. At higher frequencies, the sensitivity is limited by the quantum noises which are triggered by fundamental vacuum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields. If no new technology is developed, future GW observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope in Europe or LIGO Voyager and Cosmic Explorer in the U.S., will face similar limits. In this proposal, we seek to experimentally demonstrate two new technologies: a 6 degree-of-freedom (6D) seismometer and a quantum filter. In the future, 6D seismometers and quantum filters will increase the signal-to-noise ratio of individual GW sources, expanding the astrophysical reach of the detectors, and will vastly augment the amount of time the source is in band, with spectacular consequences for electromagnetic follow-up campaigns.