Description
Following a decade of success through LIGO and Virgo’s observations of compact binary coalescences, gravitational wave astronomy is now widely recognized as a key tool in our continued efforts to understand the Universe and our place within it.
Far from resting on their laurels though, the gravitational wave community is forging ahead with major plans for the future. The proposed “ultimate terrestrial gravitational wave detector facility” Cosmic Explorer scales up the laser interferometer to an unprecedented 40km, matching the detector arms to the gravitational wavelengths of interest to fully optimize the observatory's scientific potential.
Meanwhile, the Advanced LIGO detectors continue to operate as frequency-dependent squeezed vacuum-enhanced dual recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometers, circulating hundreds of kilowatts of laser power in their 4km long ultra-high vacuum arms to measure the vastly subatomic effects of passing gravitational waves.
This talk will survey the current state-of-the-art ground-based gravitational wave detector facilities, and their planned near-term upgrades. After motivating the next-generation Cosmic Explorer concept with a discussion of its major science targets, I will describe some of the unique technical challenges it faces, including a focus on the ongoing optical design of Cosmic Explorer’s 40 km-scale laser interferometer.
| I am the presenting author | No |
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| If you are not the presenting author, please give the presenting author's name: | Paul Fulda |