tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63782195323065149682024-03-05T10:48:25.698-08:00LIGO Laboratory NewsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-65877355104772598902022-06-23T09:06:00.013-07:002022-06-23T09:40:33.101-07:00FOURTEEN LIGO STAFF HONORED AT CALTECH'S 2022 SERVICE AND IMPACT AWARDS<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/~weekly/weekly2022/2022ServiceAwards.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="800" height="286" src="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/~weekly/weekly2022/2022ServiceAwards.png" width="640" /></a><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/~weekly/weekly2022/2022ServiceAwards.png"><span style="padding-bottom: 1em; padding-top: 1em; text-align: center;"></span></a><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/~weekly/weekly2022/2022ServiceAwards.png" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">At the <a href="https://serviceawards.caltech.edu/honorees/service-award-honorees-2022" target="_blank">2022 Caltech Staff Service and Impact Awards</a> ceremony, the Institute honored 14 LIGO personnel for their many years of service to LIGO and Caltech. The 67th Annual ceremony was held on Wednesday, June 1, and recognized more than 200 Caltech staff members for service ranging from 10 to 45 years.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">LIGO personnel honored this year were:</span></p><ul>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Rick Savage, LHO (30 years)</span></li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Mike Fyffe, LLO (25 years)</span></li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Richard McCarthy, LHO (25 years)</span></li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Daniel Sigg, LHO (25 years)</span></li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Mike Zucker, Caltech (25 years)</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Filiberto Clara, LHO (20 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Valera Frolov, LLO (20 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Joe Hanson, LLO (20 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brian O'Reilly, LLO (20 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Joe Betzwieser, LLO (15 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Aidan Brooks, Caltech (15 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Chub Osthelder, Caltech (15 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Anamaria Effler, LLO (10 years)</li><li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Stuart Aston, LLO (10 years)</li>
</ul><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Together, the group represents 275 years of service. Congratulations to the awardees from all of us at the Lab!</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Shown in the photo:</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Top row left: Chub Osthelder.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">2nd row (left to right): Daniel Sigg, Mike Fyffe, Richard McCarthy, Rick Savage.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">3rd row (left to right): Stuart Aston, Filiberto Clara, Aidan Brooks.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Absent: Joe Betzwieser, Anamaria Effler, Valera Frolov, Joe Hanson, Brian O'Reilly, Mike Zucker</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">LIGO Laboratory Human Resource Coordinator Lorna Campbell (top row, 2nd from left), LIGO Laboratory Director David Reitze (top row, 3rd from left) and Deputy Director Albert Lazzarini (top row, right) congratulate the awardees.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">
</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Image credit: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span></p></div></div>Albert Lazzarinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07827575158885639629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-56598003567081460752022-03-21T14:11:00.001-07:002022-03-21T14:11:24.639-07:00LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Webinar to Discuss Observational Results (24 Mar 2022, 1400 UTC)<p>On Thursday 24 March 2022, at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20220324T140000&p1=179&p2=64&p3=137&p4=4399&p5=240&p6=1038&p7=248&p8=1440" target="_blank">10:00 Eastern US (1400 UTC)</a>, the LVK will host an online webinar entitled “Towards understanding neutron stars with continuous gravitational waves.”</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. Please register at this <a href="https://bit.ly/3pXnwR6">Zoom link</a>.</p>
<p>A recording will be made available after the live event.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-5549113236226420752022-03-14T10:54:00.003-07:002022-03-14T10:54:51.810-07:00LIGO Laboratory's Statement on the War in Ukraine<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiuWa_5ndjE3cOezJJwih-zCBVOEpZZ38nVad0GTgKdho5Duh1rXUKQvKxkkl07-oFpE3pAy7N6zw2ZfknMa_U5rC-5jnyrSaQyKelTCdjmu2gfwgDZPK5XehwMFZAyFQ1jduSYZlYQhiz6RPmY2tTWZYpITFx_cwwoHmDIHQ483HxNMJ0vrNqUKLkGQ=s2400" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1629" data-original-width="2400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiuWa_5ndjE3cOezJJwih-zCBVOEpZZ38nVad0GTgKdho5Duh1rXUKQvKxkkl07-oFpE3pAy7N6zw2ZfknMa_U5rC-5jnyrSaQyKelTCdjmu2gfwgDZPK5XehwMFZAyFQ1jduSYZlYQhiz6RPmY2tTWZYpITFx_cwwoHmDIHQ483HxNMJ0vrNqUKLkGQ=s320"/></a></div>
<p>The LIGO Lab echoes the sentiment expressed by the American Physical Society on Ukraine:</p>
<p>The American Physical Society (APS) condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is gravely concerned about its impact. APS stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian physics community and all people whose safety has been jeopardized, and whose homes, families and careers have been disrupted by the violence. As APS seeks ways to serve its members in Ukraine and Russia during this difficult time, it underscores its commitment to the principles expressed in the <a href="https://www.aps.org/policy/statements/21_1.cfm">APS Statement on the International Nature of Science and International Scientific Cooperation</a> and declares its support for the rights and freedoms conveyed in the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> for all people. APS calls for a halt to hostilities and a peaceful end to the crisis.</p>
<p>These statements are reflective of LIGO Lab, which is jointly managed by Caltech and MIT, each of whom have issued their own statements on the conflict.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.caltech.edu/campus-life-events/campus-announcements/caltech-and-the-war-in-ukraine">Statement from the office of the president of Caltech</a><br />
<a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/mit-responding-ukraine-0228">Statement from the office of the president of MIT</a><br />
<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/statement-support-ukrainian-people">Statement from MITPress</a><br />
<a href="https://diversity.caltech.edu/resources/campus-resources/effects-of-the-war-in-ukraine-on-the-caltech-community-resources">Caltech Ukraine Resource Page</a></p>
<p><em>Image: Unsplash</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-58471361082850952282022-02-17T14:29:00.001-08:002022-03-03T12:15:25.623-08:00LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Webinar to Discuss Observational Results (24 Feb 2022)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the webinar:</p>
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/foK_MK1NRpk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Original post:</em> On Thursday 24 February 2022, at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20220224T150000&p1=179&p2=137&p3=64&p4=4399&p5=1038&p6=248&p7=240&p8=1440">10:00 Eastern US (1500 UTC)</a>, the LVK will host an online webinar entitled “Searching for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources” at which we will motivate and present the latest searches for such sources in the LIGO and Virgo data from the third observing run.</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. Please register at this <a href="https://bit.ly/34uPImh">Zoom link</a>.</p>
<p>A recording will be made available after the live event.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Title: "Searching for continuous gravitational waves from unknown sources"</p>
<p>Abstract: Observing sources of continuous, almost monochromatic, gravitational waves represents one of the next major goals in gravitational-wave astronomy. The primary source would be rapidly-rotating individual neutron stars in our Galaxy, with the signal generated due to a distortion of the star from symmetry about its axes. Observations of these would be a vital probe for the study of matter at the extreme densities only present in neutron stars. However, other more exotic sources of continuous signals could include certain forms of dark matter; axions (a form of bosonic dark matter) could form clouds around black holes and generate continuous GWs; while dark equivalents of the photon could induce a signal in the GW detectors themselves. While generally intrinsically weaker than the transient GW signals observed from coalescing compact objects, searches for continuous signals can build up sensitivity by using long stretches of GW data. In this talk we will give the motivation for, and describe, the latest searches for continuous GW from unknown sources using LIGO and Virgo data from the third observing run. These provide the most stringent limits yet obtained for such signals and these limits will be put in an astrophysical context. We will also look to the future for prospects of CW searches in upcoming observing campaigns.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-83589809488584267992022-01-31T13:08:00.001-08:002022-01-31T13:45:39.480-08:00David H. Shoemaker Named 2021 AAAS Fellow<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwAhW55KPOsLhxy18Lju0194PTz5Xij5suxtvbXSO5TP9SB47BHvxP3OW6wfv0vxGXwab8ABI8u5_DJ1KSy7kLwPzeZfNJo_sgjcMXvnVHKpaP6_XIdOdLdVcNIbARToc_gtPQ7-Twbrv1scFtMfJ7sqlJgDCK7_CmwcEDd_vacHN1xsFUY2-xjcnY6w=s750" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwAhW55KPOsLhxy18Lju0194PTz5Xij5suxtvbXSO5TP9SB47BHvxP3OW6wfv0vxGXwab8ABI8u5_DJ1KSy7kLwPzeZfNJo_sgjcMXvnVHKpaP6_XIdOdLdVcNIbARToc_gtPQ7-Twbrv1scFtMfJ7sqlJgDCK7_CmwcEDd_vacHN1xsFUY2-xjcnY6w=s320"/></a></div>
<p>David H. Shoemaker of LIGO MIT is among the 564 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) who have been elected the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/page/2021-fellows">2021 Fellows</a>, a lifetime honor given in recognition of the AAAS members “whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues.” David H. Shoemaker has served as the Director of LIGO MIT, the leader of the Advanced LIGO Project and the Spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. He is currently a Principal Investigator and Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. His work is focused on instrumentation to enable the observation of gravitational radiation using precision measurement techniques.</p>
<p>The Fellows will be recognized at the 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting in February 2022.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: MIT Kavli Institute</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-10091477919667710822022-01-20T11:55:00.002-08:002022-01-31T13:49:00.871-08:00LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Webinar to Discuss Observational Results (27 Jan 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recording:</p>
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AilS3AklAcc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><em>Original post:</em> On Thursday 27 January 2022, at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20220127T140000&p1=179&p2=137&p3=64&p4=4399&p5=1038&p6=248&p7=240&p8=1440" target=_blank>09:00 Eastern US (1400 UTC)</a>, the LVK will host an online webinar entitled "Testing General Relativity with GWTC-3" at which we will present results from our recent paper: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.06861">arxiv.org/abs/2112.06861</a>.</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. Register for the webinar at this <a href="https://bit.ly/33vezGv">Zoom link</a>.</p>
<p>A recording will be made available after the live event.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Title: "Testing General Relativity with GWTC-3"</p>
<p>Abstract: With the most recent gravitational wave transient catalog GWTC-3, the LIGO/Virgo detectors have detected about 90 compact binary mergers, including binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and neutron star--black hole pairs. Among the 90 events, 35 compact binary mergers from the second half of the third observing run (O3b) were reported for the first time (<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.03606">arxiv.org/abs/2111.03606</a>). In this webinar we discuss the results from our recent paper (<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.06861">arxiv.org/abs/2112.06861</a>) where we combined the new observational data with the older data to seek possible departures from GR.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-41745594365167270542021-12-08T10:10:00.003-08:002021-12-21T12:55:51.508-08:00Two LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA webinars to discuss further observational results (9-10 Dec 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recordings:</p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzEALwplV8Q" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xGgDMWSaaF4" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Original post:</em> The LIGO-Virgo-Kagra collaborations will host two additional public webinars this week, presenting further results related to compact binary discoveries made during the third observing run. These two webinars follow the first of this week’s webinars, “GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run", which was held on Mon, 6 Dec, at 10:00 Eastern US.</p>
<p>The next webinar is on Thursday, 9 Dec 2021, at 10:00am Eastern US time. That webinar will present "Constraints on the cosmic expansion history from GWTC-3." <a href="https://bit.ly/31nift0">You must register (in advance)</a>.</p>
<p>The final webinar for the week is on Friday, 10 Dec 2021, at 10:00am Eastern US time. That webinar will present “The population of merging compact binaries inferred using gravitational waves through GWTC-3." <a href="https://bit.ly/3G7u2u1">You must register (in advance)</a>.</p>
<p>Recordings from both webinars will be posted here in a few days.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-2951969810151260442021-11-29T12:11:00.006-08:002021-12-08T10:23:44.508-08:00LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Webinar to Discuss New Observational Results (6 Dec 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recording:</p>
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MUyOVX1HqB8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Original post:</em> On Monday 6 December 2021, at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20211206T150000&p1=179&p2=137&p3=4399&p4=240&p5=1038&p6=248&p7=1440" target="_blank">10:00AM US Eastern time</a>, the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra collaborations will host an online webinar entitled “GWTC-3: Compact Binary Coalescences Observed During the Second Part of the Third Observing Run.”. This webinar will present GWTC-3 and the latest LIGO and Virgo observations from the second part of their third observing run (O3b). We will discuss the state of the instruments in O3b, the data quality, the results of our search analyses, and the inferred properties of selected candidates. A Q&A session will follow including experts in instrumentation, data analysis and astrophysical interpretation.</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. You can register for the webinar at this <a href="https://bit.ly/3p9S5Su">Zoom link</a>.</p>
<p>A recording will be available after the webinar.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-26015362418264715312021-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:002021-11-22T14:24:45.229-08:00Winner of the 2021 Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration Announced<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqElqQuhuCCJDnlGyQ7WNyd7Ve5HxmbAzBH2rC7bNBlJJQNDn1Qv6dr6GNO3OsdjckJr93PHRYycVSZ2rURvFvrmT7tH_j2sW_vCeWlXuA76kQqsigl4jemgp1-SvmClw5WQ3ipl5j7w0/s2048/Ethan-Payne.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqElqQuhuCCJDnlGyQ7WNyd7Ve5HxmbAzBH2rC7bNBlJJQNDn1Qv6dr6GNO3OsdjckJr93PHRYycVSZ2rURvFvrmT7tH_j2sW_vCeWlXuA76kQqsigl4jemgp1-SvmClw5WQ3ipl5j7w0/s320/Ethan-Payne.jpg"/></a></div><p>The LIGO Laboratory congratulates <strong>Ethan Payne of Caltech</strong> for winning this year’s LIGO Laboratory Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration for his pivotal role in improving the incorporation of LIGO detector calibration errors into analyses that infer the likely source of a gravitational wave signal.</p>
<p>Payne wins this year’s award for his leading role in breaking down a multifaceted computational barrier to allow an estimation of systematic calibration error to be easily ingested by astrophysical analyses. The software infrastructure he developed allowed for detector calibration error estimates to be smoothly integrated into gravitational-wave source analyses such as <a href="https://lscsoft.docs.ligo.org/bilby/">Bilby</a> and drastically reduced the computational cost of accounting for calibration error. Payne’s work was deployed in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration’s flagship results for the most recent observing run, O3, recently released in the latest gravitational wave event catalog <a href="https://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-O3bCatalog/index.php">GWTC-3</a> and companion papers.</p>
<p>Payne’s breakthrough unlocks the ability for researchers to easily study when and how detector calibration error will impact astrophysical source analysis for future gravitational wave detections. His effort significantly improves our ability to perform precision tests of fundamental physics and probe new frontiers in astrophysics with gravitational waves.</p>
<p>Payne will receive a $1,000 prize and present an invited seminar at one of the LIGO Laboratory sites (LIGO-Hanford, LIGO-Livingston, Caltech, or MIT) to share his achievements with LIGO Laboratory members. Payne will also be presented with an award certificate at the next meeting of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/award-excellence-detchar-winner-2021">Read more</a> about the LIGO Laboratory Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/award-excellence-detchar-winner-2021#2021-honorable-mention">Discover another excellent LIGO Detector Characterization and Calibration project</a> that earned honorable mention for the 2021 award.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: Alvin Li</em></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-86940590918479242021-11-18T10:28:00.008-08:002021-11-29T14:40:01.360-08:00LIGO-Virgo-Kagra Webinar to Discuss New Observational Results (22 Nov 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recording:</p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tD36nX_rzic" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Original post:</em> On Monday 22 November 2021, at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20211122T150000&p1=tz_et&p2=137&p3=64&p4=4399&p5=1038&p6=248&p7=240&p8=1440" target=_blank>10:00 AM US Eastern time</a>, the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra collaborations will host an online webinar entitled “GWTC-2.1: Deep Extended Catalog of Compact Binary Coalescences Observed by LIGO and Virgo During the First Half of the Third Observing Run.” We will present results from our <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.01045">recent paper</a>.</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. You can register for the webinar at this <a href="https://bit.ly/30BxFJU">Zoom link</a>.</p>
<p>A recording will be available after the webinar.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-4518997202533285342021-11-15T17:41:00.000-08:002021-11-15T17:41:56.826-08:00Update on LIGO, Virgo and Kagra Observing Run Plans<p>Taking into account the most recent impacts to the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA detector upgrade schedules brought about by local and global conditions, we plan to start the O4 Observing run in mid-December 2022.</p>
<p>LIGO projects a sensitivity goal of 160-190 Mpc for binary neutron stars. Virgo projects a target sensitivity of 80-115 Mpc. KAGRA should be running with greater than 1 Mpc sensitivity at the beginning of O4, and will work to improve the sensitivity toward the end of O4.</p>
<h4>Contact</h4>
<p>LIGO Scientific Collaboration Spokesperson: <a href="mailto:lsc-spokesperson@ligo.org">Patrick Brady</a><br />
Virgo Collaboration Spokesperson: <a href="mailto:virgo-spokesperson@ego-gw.it">Giovanni Losurdo</a><br />
KAGRA Scientific Congress Board Chair: <a href="mailto:kscboard-chair@icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp">Jun’ichi Yokoyama</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-2117508713585753362021-11-07T17:00:00.004-08:002021-11-29T14:42:28.525-08:00GWTC-3 Catalog and O3b Bulk Strain Data Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDoU0kDl9xI4kOBhHrJpWaavdjgy7kNDHxrDXmMYnca5mq4Z8TL_-MNY9zn_nS9ToQO6oIeItJCY-29z-8hjXeSe-tJH99q0PKJ_uvHv5mm2EgBXqWddo7TOzkynYW_2flqQoG7U7T86g/s2048/GW-Mergers-Poster.v5.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDoU0kDl9xI4kOBhHrJpWaavdjgy7kNDHxrDXmMYnca5mq4Z8TL_-MNY9zn_nS9ToQO6oIeItJCY-29z-8hjXeSe-tJH99q0PKJ_uvHv5mm2EgBXqWddo7TOzkynYW_2flqQoG7U7T86g/s320/GW-Mergers-Poster.v5.jpg"/></a></div>
<p>The largest catalog of gravitational wave events ever assembled has been released today, with dozens of ripples in space time captured by a global network of detectors. The catalog updates the list of all gravitational-wave events observed to date with events observed between November 2019 and March 2020, using three international detectors: The two Advanced LIGO detectors in Livingston, LA and Hanford, WA, and the Advanced Virgo Detector in Italy.</p>
<p>Data from these three detectors have been carefully analyzed by an international team of scientists from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, the Virgo Collaboration and the KAGRA Collaboration.</p>
<p>More information and a pointer can be found at <a href="https://ligo.org/detections/O3bcatalog.php">www.ligo.org</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations have released bulk strain data taken during the last six months of the 3rd Observing Run (O3). This is the O3b data release. It includes data taken between November 2019 and March 2020, from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. See the released data at the <a href="https://www.gw-openscience.org/GWTC-3/">GWOSC website</a>.</p>
<p>See also: <a href="/2021/11/ligo-virgo-kagra-webinar-to-discuss-new_29.html">A webinar about GWTC-3 and O3b results</a>.</p>
<p><em>Image: Gravitational wave merger detections since 2015. This image shows gravitational-wave merger detections from observational runs O1, O2, and O3 (including O3a and O3b data). Credit: Carl Knox (OzGrav, Swinburne University of Technology).</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-67621350424523737932021-10-18T16:28:00.002-07:002021-10-18T17:00:52.761-07:00Peter Fritschel Receives the 2022 Richard A. Isaacson Award in Gravitational-Wave Science<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VTJEv0Mdgi1Q8eEtbVddJTm0QwKHbvCdhlqcnJZzmhdRMUlapQk4Ro84G9Ao6U5L0-1nxGzn3jPDXL9tt24_g8XhRScVfwO7AiAZ4WqKp-sv7nH7_p8pPOGUOCSgseIbM24pL6wOe-pI/s375/peter-fritschel-375x375.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VTJEv0Mdgi1Q8eEtbVddJTm0QwKHbvCdhlqcnJZzmhdRMUlapQk4Ro84G9Ao6U5L0-1nxGzn3jPDXL9tt24_g8XhRScVfwO7AiAZ4WqKp-sv7nH7_p8pPOGUOCSgseIbM24pL6wOe-pI/s320/peter-fritschel-375x375.jpg"/></a></div>
<p>The American Physical Society (APS) has <a href="https://aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Fritschel&first_nm=Peter&year=2022" target=_blank>awarded the 2021 Richard A. Isaacson Award</a> in Gravitational-Wave Science to <a href="https://space.mit.edu/people/fritschel-peter-k" target=_blank>Peter Fritschel</a>, Director of the LIGO-MIT group and Chief Detector Scientist of the LIGO Laboratory. Fritschel also serves as Principal Investigator and Senior Research Scientist in the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT.</p>
<p>The award was given “For over three decades of key contributions to instrumentation for gravitational-wave detectors, and in particular for scientific leadership in the design and commissioning of Advanced LIGO, enabling the first detection of gravitational waves and the many detections that followed,” according to the APS website.</p>
<p>The award “recognizes outstanding contributions in gravitational-wave physics, gravitational-wave astrophysics, and the technologies that enable” these disciplines.</p>
<p>The award was <a href="https://aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/isaacson.cfm" target=_blank>established</a> in 2018 to honor the contributions of Richard A. Isaacson to the development of LIGO and the field of gravitational-wave physics. Isaacson served as the Program Director of Gravitational Physics at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1973 until 2002, and in his role overseeing NSF funding proposals, became a leading advocate for what at the time was seen by many as a fruitless pursuit — trying to detect gravitational waves. The award was funded by Rainer Weiss (MIT) and Kip S. Thorne (Caltech), two of the recipients of the <a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20171003">2017 Nobel Prize in Physics</a> for the detection of gravitational waves.</p>
<p>Fritschel will receive a $5,000 prize, a certificate, and an invitation to give a talk at the APS April meeting.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-69398412432193503472021-09-24T18:02:00.002-07:002021-09-24T18:08:58.993-07:00"LIGO" Documentary is the Official Selection at the 2021 Boston Film Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0V11fWmsSpVK15cjKw7_26vFYefxuhsnL9vC6Aqni8Dg-FukNSETqRTjVBYffry3t7oZonAlGRWAlUMO_AH92wa-yTjhTfwDJcrmTwjSgUM4FD266sdEo2cUphOaQU4MxVXIihkVyBCI/s1728/ligo-move-poster.png" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0V11fWmsSpVK15cjKw7_26vFYefxuhsnL9vC6Aqni8Dg-FukNSETqRTjVBYffry3t7oZonAlGRWAlUMO_AH92wa-yTjhTfwDJcrmTwjSgUM4FD266sdEo2cUphOaQU4MxVXIihkVyBCI/s320/ligo-move-poster.png"/></a></div>
<p>"LIGO", a documentary by Les Guthman, is the official <a href="https://watch.eventive.org/bostonfilmfestival2021/play/613e9365acfc6d00307b25d2">selection</a> at the <a href="https://watch.eventive.org/bostonfilmfestival2021">2021 Boston Film Festival</a>. The documentary project began in 2015 and continued over the course of several years, with the crew documenting discoveries as they happened. The result was a feature documentary released in 2019.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20191210">9-part video series</a>, "LIGO: A discovery that shook the world" is available at the LIGO Lab website.</p>
<p><em>"LIGO" movie poster credit: Advanced LIGO Documentary Project/ligothefilm.com</em></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-78929684349015229942021-08-17T14:32:00.004-07:002021-09-29T09:20:05.263-07:00New material to improve the range of gravitational wave detectors (updated 2021-09-29)<p><strong><em>Update 29 September 2021:</em></strong> Read <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/extending-ligos-reach-into-the-cosmos-with-mirror-coatings">"Extending LIGO's Reach into the Cosmos"</a>, a story on the Caltech website about how new mirror coatings will increase the volume of space LIGO can probe in its next run.</p>
<p><em>Original story:</em></p>
<p>The ability of the gravitational-wave observatories to study the physics of large-scale events, such as the collision of black holes and neutron stars, is actually limited by physics at the microscopic scale. Specifically, the random molecular thermal motion in the laser interferometer mirrors generates a noise large enough to cover the faintest signals coming from the universe.</p>
<p>Research on improved <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_solid">amorphous</a> materials to be used in higher performance mirrors has been going on for the last two decades, resulting only in marginal improvement with respect to the thermal noise of first-generation detectors.</p>
<p>Our results show that a novel material, a mixture of titanium oxide and germanium oxide, would allow reduction in the thermal noise coming from mirror coatings by a factor of two, the largest improvement ever measured, paving the way to the next generation of gravitational wave detectors.</p>
<p>These new mirror coatings, together with other planned upgrades, will nearly double the observatories’ reach, allowing probing a volume of the universe almost 8 times larger than what is possible today. We expect to be able to increase the detection rate of gravitational waves from once a week to once a day or more.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.071101">Published</a> in <em>Phys. Rev. Lett.</em> <strong>127</strong>, 071101 (2021)</p>
<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.04954">https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.04954</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Written by Gabriele Vajente</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-66977396869225567392021-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:002021-07-19T10:03:50.479-07:00LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA Observing Run Plans<p>The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaborations are making good progress in the updates of the Virgo (where installation of new hardware is complete), KAGRA, and LIGO detectors in preparation for O4. It is not yet possible to give a definitive start date for O4, as there are some continued supply chain delays and the impact of COVID continues. We can say at this time that the O4 observing run will not begin before August 2022. We expect to be able to give a better estimate for the start of O4 by 15 September 2021 and will issue an update then.</p>
<h4>Contact</h4>
<p>LIGO Scientific Collaboration Spokesperson: <a href="mailto:lsc-spokesperson@ligo.org">Patrick Brady</a><br />
Virgo Collaboration Spokesperson: <a href="mailto:virgo-spokesperson@ego-gw.it">Giovanni Losurdo</a><br />
KAGRA Scientific Congress Board Chair: <a href="mailto:hisaaki.shinkai@oit.ac.jp">Hisaaki Shinkai</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-44363735763217992152021-07-19T10:00:00.000-07:002021-07-19T10:00:54.602-07:00Physicists bring kilogram-scale object to near standstill<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4Xj2OddZHX0tx-OnBXRZ7KtkA2Ugpu8JVmor64jGSPFluKTcNQ3BPJPigJPQDNuRj7P2Bhv0UerhVyowKcfcMtUSh9nnkB1tCObh9n64ECNcz7uTiZYOTsPV-4WsTiEj89EbB1jxC2qz/s900/MIT-Kilogram-Cooling.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4Xj2OddZHX0tx-OnBXRZ7KtkA2Ugpu8JVmor64jGSPFluKTcNQ3BPJPigJPQDNuRj7P2Bhv0UerhVyowKcfcMtUSh9nnkB1tCObh9n64ECNcz7uTiZYOTsPV-4WsTiEj89EbB1jxC2qz/s320/MIT-Kilogram-Cooling.jpg"/></a></div>
<p>LIGO researchers at MIT have brought a human-scale object to a near standstill by cooling it to 77 nanokelvins: <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2021/motional-ground-state-ligo-0618">Read the story</a> at MIT News.</p>
<p>The results were <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6548/1333">published</a> in <em>Science</em>.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-59712386518303285642021-06-29T11:27:00.003-07:002021-12-21T12:57:17.309-08:00LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Webinar on Latest Observational Results (1 Jul 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recorded webinar:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/toaBQwOmXbk" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p>On Thursday 1 July 2021, at 10:00 Eastern US (other time zones below), the LVK will host an online webinar to present results from our <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac082e">recent paper</a>.</p>
<p>Title: "Gravitational waves from neutron star-black hole coalescences"</p>
<p>Abstract: We report the observation of gravitational waves from two compact
binary coalescences in LIGO's and Virgo's third observing run with
properties consistent with neutron star--black hole (NSBH) binaries. The two
events are named GW200105_162426 and GW200115_042309, abbreviated as
GW200105 and GW200115; the first was observed by LIGO Livingston and Virgo,
and the second by all three LIGO-Virgo detectors.</p>
<p>The webinar is open to all. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/lvk-webinar8">Register for the webinar</a>.</p>
<p>A recording of the webinar will be available here.</p>
<p>Other time zones:<br>
Thu, 1 Jul at 07:00 Los Angeles<br>
Thu, 1 Jul at 09:00 Chicago<br>
Thu, 1 Jul at 16:00 Pisa<br>
Thu, 1 Jul at 19:30 Pune<br>
Thu, 1 Jul at 23:00 Tokyo<br>
Fri, 5 Feb at 00:00 Sydney<br>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-46827060147989654362021-06-29T05:00:00.006-07:002021-07-07T23:04:19.518-07:00LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA finds elusive mergers of black holes with neutron stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAKrsfE7ZeUPQMv1XDCDLyw4YlHC5_ayjytZ7e8YCyeRquc1DrXhqoGzpnh6CKCexALaqTH3o052zktCvcOMciPsYfFxoHc-AuovVZbuq-W-0bX32syk2iEPcf4ESCAhRLCIzZy6wE7sG/s1536/general_NSBH_merger.png" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 1em; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAKrsfE7ZeUPQMv1XDCDLyw4YlHC5_ayjytZ7e8YCyeRquc1DrXhqoGzpnh6CKCexALaqTH3o052zktCvcOMciPsYfFxoHc-AuovVZbuq-W-0bX32syk2iEPcf4ESCAhRLCIzZy6wE7sG/s320/general_NSBH_merger.png"/></a></div>
<p>For the first time, researchers have confirmed the detection of a collision between a black hole and a neutron star. In fact, the scientists detected not one but two such events occurring just 10 days apart in January 2020. The extreme events made splashes in space that sent gravitational waves rippling across at least 900 million light-years to reach Earth. In each case, the neutron star was likely swallowed whole by its black hole partner.</p>
<p>Gravitational waves are disturbances in the curvature of space-time created by massive objects in motion. During the five years since the waves were first measured, a finding that led to the <a href="https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2017/10/rainer-weiss-barry-c-barish-and-kip-s.html">2017 Nobel Prize in Physics</a>, researchers have identified more than 50 gravitational-wave signals from the merging of pairs of black holes and of pairs of neutron stars. Both black holes and neutron stars are the corpses of massive stars, with black holes being even more massive than neutron stars.</p>
<p>Now, in a new study, scientists have announced the detection of gravitational waves from two rare events, each involving the collision of a black hole and a neutron star. The gravitational waves were detected by the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States and by the Virgo detector in Italy. The KAGRA detector in Japan, joined the LIGO-Virgo network in 2020, but was not online during these detections.</p>
<p>The first merger, detected on January 5, 2020, involved a black hole about 9 times the mass of our sun, or 9 solar masses, and a 1.9-solar-mass neutron star. The second merger was detected on January 15, and involved a 6-solar-mass black hole and a 1.5-solar-mass neutron star. The results were published today, June 29, in <em>The Astrophysical Journal Letters</em>.</p>
<p>Astronomers have spent decades searching for neutron stars orbiting black holes in the Milky Way, our home galaxy, but have found none so far. "With this new discovery of neutron star- black hole mergers outside our galaxy, we have found the missing type of binary. We can finally begin to understand how many of these systems exist, how often they merge, and why we have not yet seen examples in the Milky Way," says Astrid Lamberts, a researcher at Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, in Nice, France.</p>
<p>The first of the two events, GW200105, was observed by the LIGO Livingston and Virgo detectors. It produced a strong signal in the LIGO detector but had a small signal-to-noise in the Virgo detector. The other LIGO detector, located in Hanford, Washington, was temporarily offline. Given the nature of the gravitational waves, the team inferred that the signal was caused by a black hole colliding with a 1.9-solar-mass compact object, later identified as a neutron star. This merger took place 900 million light-years away.</p>
<p>"Even though we see a strong signal in only one detector, we conclude that it is real and not just detector noise. It passes all our stringent quality checks and sticks out from all noise events we see in the third observing run," says Harald Pfeiffer, group leader in the Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity department at Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (AEI) in Potsdam, Germany.</p>
<p>Because the signal was strong in only one detector, the location of the merger on the sky remains uncertain, lying somewhere in an area that is 34,000 times the size of a full moon.</p>
<p>"While the gravitational waves alone don't reveal the structure of the lighter object, we can infer its maximum mass. By combining this information with theoretical predictions of expected neutron star masses in such a binary system, we conclude that a neutron star is the most likely explanation," says Bhooshan Gadre, a postdoctoral researcher at the AEI.</p>
<p>The second event, GW200115, was detected by both LIGO detectors and the Virgo detector. GW200115 comes from the merger of a black hole with a 1.5-solar mass neutron star that took place roughly 1 billion light-years from Earth. Using information from all three instruments, scientists were better able to narrow down the part of the sky where this event occurred. Nevertheless, the localized area is almost 3,000 times the size of a full moon.</p>
<p>Astronomers were alerted to both events soon after they were detected in gravitational waves and subsequently searched the skies for associated flashes of light. None were found. This is not surprising due to the very large distance to these mergers, which means that any light coming from them, no matter what the wavelength, would be very dim and hard to detect with even the most powerful telescopes. Additionally, the mergers likely did not give off a light show in any case because their black holes were big enough that they swallowed the neutron stars whole.</p>
<p>"These were not events where the black holes munched on the neutron stars like the cookie monster and flung bits and pieces about. That 'flinging about' is what would produce light, and we don't think that happened in these cases," says Patrick Brady, a professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.</p>
<p>Previously, the LIGO-Virgo network found two other candidate neutron star-black hole mergers. One event called GW190814, detected August 14, 2019, involved a collision of a 23-solar-mass black hole with an object of about 2.6 solar masses, <a href="https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2020/06/ligo-virgo-finds-mystery-object-in-mass.html">which could be either the heaviest known neutron star or the lightest known black hole</a>. Another candidate event, called GW190426, and detected on April 26, 2019, was thought to possibly be a neutron star-black hole merger, but could also simply be the result of detector noise.</p>
<p>Having confidently observed two examples of gravitational waves from black holes merging with neutron stars, researchers now estimate that, within one billion light-years of Earth, roughly one such merger happens per month.</p>
<p>"The detector groups at LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA are improving their detectors in preparation for the next observing run scheduled to begin in summer 2022," says Brady. "With the improved sensitivity, we hope to detect merger waves up to once per day and to better measure the properties of black holes and super-dense matter that makes up neutron stars."</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Additional information about the gravitational-wave observatories:</h3>
<p>This material is based upon work supported by NSF's LIGO Laboratory which is a major facility funded by the NSF. LIGO is operated by Caltech and MIT, which conceived of LIGO and led the Advanced LIGO detector project. Financial support for the Advanced LIGO project was principally from the NSF with Germany (Max Planck Society), the U.K. (Science and Technology Facilities Council) and Australia (Australian Research Council-OzGrav) making significant commitments and contributions to the project. Approximately 1,400 scientists from around the world participate in the effort to analyze the data and develop detector designs through the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which includes the GEO Collaboration. A list of additional partners is available at <a href="https://my.ligo.org/census.php">https://my.ligo.org/census.php</a>.</p>
<p>The Virgo Collaboration is currently composed of approximately 650 members from 119 institutions in 14 different countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) hosts the Virgo detector near Pisa in Italy, and is funded by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy, and Nikhef in the Netherlands. A list of the Virgo Collaboration groups can be found at <a href="http://public.virgo-gw.eu/the-virgo-collaboration">http://public.virgo-gw.eu/the-virgo-collaboration</a>. More information is available on the Virgo website at <a href="http://www.virgo-gw.eu">http://www.virgo-gw.eu</a>.</p>
<p>The KAGRA detector is located in Kamioka, Gifu, Japan. The host institute is the Institute of Cosmic Ray Researches (ICRR) at the University of Tokyo, and the project is co-hosted by National Astronomical Observatory in Japan (NAOJ) and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). KAGRA completed its construction in 2019, and later joined the international gravitational-wave network of LIGO and Virgo. The actual data-taking was started in February 2020 during the final stage of the run called "O3b." The KAGRA collaboration is composed of over 470 members from 11 countries/regions. The list of researchers is available from <a href="http://gwwiki.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/JGWwiki/KAGRA/KSC/Researchers">http://gwwiki.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/JGWwiki/KAGRA/KSC/Researchers</a>. KAGRA information is at the website <a href="https://gwcenter.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/">https://gwcenter.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Webinar Series</h3>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recorded webinar:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/toaBQwOmXbk" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p>For those wishing for a deeper dive into these LIGO-Virgo results, the team has scheduled a webinar intended for a scientific audience. This is the 8th webinar in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Webinar Series. The one-hour Zoom webinar will be on July 1, 2021 at 14:00 Universal Time Coordinated (7:00 Pacific Daylight Time; 10:00 Eastern Daylight Time; 16:00 Central European Summer Time; 23:00 Japan Standard Time).</p>
<p>To register, visit: <a href="https://uwm-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__GVBbtcoRRCbMM5oieoEdg">https://uwm-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__GVBbtcoRRCbMM5oieoEdg</a>.</p>
<p>The Zoom webinar will also be live streamed and a recording will be available upon request.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Additional Information</h3>
<p>
Visit <a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20210629">the announcement page</a> at LIGO Lab website for images, videos, and more information about the discoveries<br>
Discovery paper: <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac082e">"Observation of gravitational waves from two neutron star-black hole coalescences"</a>. Published in <em>Astrophys. J. Lett.</em> <strong>915</strong>, L5 (2021)<br>
</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Media Contacts</h3>
<p>
<strong>AEI/ Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics</strong><br>
Benjamin Knispel<br>
<a href="mailto:benjamin.knispel@aei.mpg.de">benjamin.knispel@aei.mpg.de</a><br>
+49(0)511-762-19104<br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>Caltech</strong><br>
Whitney Clavin<br>
<a href="mailto:wclavin@caltech.edu">wclavin@caltech.edu</a><br>
626-390-9601<br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>MIT</strong><br>
Abigail Abazorius<br>
<a href="mailto:abbya@mit.edu">abbya@mit.edu</a><br>
617-253-2709<br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>UWM</strong><br>
Laura Otto<br>
<a href="mailto:llhunt@uwm.edu">llhunt@uwm.edu</a><br>
414-303-4868<br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>Virgo</strong><br>
Livia Conti<br>
<a href="mailto:livia.conti@pd.infn.it">livia.conti@pd.infn.it</a><br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>EGO</strong><br>
Vincenzo Napolano<br>
<a href="mailto:napolano@ego-gw.it">napolano@ego-gw.it</a><br>
+393472994985<br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>KAGRA</strong><br>
Masatake Ohashi<br>
<a href="mailto:ohashi@icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp">ohashi@icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp</a><br>
</p>
<p>
<strong>NSF</strong><br>
Josh Chamot<br>
<a href="mailto:jchamot@nsf.gov">jchamot@nsf.gov</a><br>
703-292-4489<br>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Graphics: Image from a MAYA collaboration numerical relativity simulation of an NSBH binary merger, showing the disruption of the neutron star. Credit: Deborah Ferguson (UT Austin), Bhavesh Khamesra (Georgia Tech), and Karan Jani (Vanderbilt University).</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-30505945745660496712021-06-02T10:59:00.006-07:002021-06-03T08:36:01.938-07:00Eleven LIGO Staff Honored at Caltech's 2021 Service and Impact Awards<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EmpwCU-bTOMGO7sun_kc_EjB6-x810QxzYXkh5YFrZgq8qbLNhS1HJjG0BJDAHdwl8BAozvWrzZH4E2w9hY9wci6QSigY2Gmmcxozh8gOIYOw4bJabuIo9fxeU-83LfWIJl0VGkoL7lz/s840/service-impact-awards-2021-ligo-awardees.png" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_EmpwCU-bTOMGO7sun_kc_EjB6-x810QxzYXkh5YFrZgq8qbLNhS1HJjG0BJDAHdwl8BAozvWrzZH4E2w9hY9wci6QSigY2Gmmcxozh8gOIYOw4bJabuIo9fxeU-83LfWIJl0VGkoL7lz/s320/service-impact-awards-2021-ligo-awardees.png"/></a></div>
<p>At <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/campus-life-events/master-calendar/66th-annual-staff-service-impact-awards-1">the Caltech Staff Service and Impact Awards</a> ceremony, the Institute honored 11 LIGO personnel for their many years of service to LIGO and Caltech. The 66th Annual ceremony was held online on Wednesday, June 2, and recognized more than 250 Caltech staff members for service ranging from 10 to 45 years.</p>
<p style="clear:both">LIGO personnel honored this year were:<br>
<ul>
<li>Thomas Evans, LLO (10 years)</li>
<li>Joseph Giaime, LLO (15 years)</li>
<li>Katherine Holt, LLO (15 years)</li>
<li>Melanie McCandless, LLO (10 years)</li>
<li>Edmond Merilh (10 years)</li>
<li>Carolyn Peterson, LHO (10 years)</li>
<li>Karen Roland, LHO (10 years)</li>
<li>Jameson Rollins, CIT (10 years)</li>
<li>Christopher Soike, LHO (10 years)</li>
<li>Cheryl Vorvick, LHO (20 years)</li>
<li>Hiro Yamamoto, CIT (30 years)</li>
</ul>
<p>Together, the group represents 150 years of service. Congratulations to the awardees from all of us at the Lab!</p>
<p>Shown on the photo:</p>
<p>
Top row middle: Hiro Yamamoto.<br>
2nd row (left to right): Katherine Holt, Melanie McCandless, Jameson Rollins.<br>
3rd row (left to right): Cheryl Vorvick, Edmond Merilh, Joe Giaime.<br>
4th row: Carolyn Peterson.<br>
Absent: Karen Roland, Christopher Soike, Thomas Evans.<br>
LIGO Laboratory Director David Reitze (top row, right) and Deputy Director Albert Lazzarini (top row, left) congratulate the awardees.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-5590699980427386792021-05-24T10:05:00.015-07:002021-12-21T12:58:03.267-08:00A webinar to discuss recent search for lensing signatures in gravitational wave observations (27 May 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the webinar:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tBVS12kXJwE" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe>
<p>On 27 May 2021, at 10:00am Eastern US time (2PM UTC) the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaborations will host a webinar on "Search for lensing signatures in the gravitational-wave observations from the first-half of LIGO-Virgo's third observing run." We will present results from our recent paper: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.06384">arXiv.org/abs/2105.06384</a>. An abstract and additional details can be found at this <a href="https://www.ligo.org/news/images/LVK_webinar7.pdf">pdf flyer</a>. The Zoom webinar is open to all. You can register for it at <a href="https://uwm-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LhzoeOL8RCCxgnkWYjz2iw">this link</a>. A recording will be posted following the event.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRhZ0sF_QarokWham9YOzK-T11ph54y4K_2KYieGwQD-gBaXIzst7EBx8n0fG9C63QTMFU1Bmcrf_ovLjkeatsepQoyR7DuJ802Q8Kzgixf2Y6j9-noXKO0uNxoZdowuaXiMWm1Kq0FKj/s1600/lensing-buscicchio.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRhZ0sF_QarokWham9YOzK-T11ph54y4K_2KYieGwQD-gBaXIzst7EBx8n0fG9C63QTMFU1Bmcrf_ovLjkeatsepQoyR7DuJ802Q8Kzgixf2Y6j9-noXKO0uNxoZdowuaXiMWm1Kq0FKj/s320/lensing-buscicchio.jpg"/></a></div>
<p style="text-align:right"><em>Image: Illustration of a binary coalescence magnified by a lens. (Credit: R. Buscicchio, University of Birmingham)</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-14851426452233772222021-04-30T08:00:00.001-07:002021-04-30T08:00:00.183-07:00First Set of O3 Bulk Strain Data Released<p>The LIGO and Virgo collaborations have <a href="https://www.gw-openscience.org/O3/O3a/">released bulk strain data</a> taken during the first six months of O3 on 30 April 2021. This is the O3a data release. It includes data taken between 1 April 2019 and 30 September 2019. We plan to release the remaining strain data from O3 later this year. For more information about LIGO-Virgo data releases, visit <a href="https://www.gw-openscience.org">Gravitational Wave Open Science Center</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-55387224373690717282021-02-02T09:42:00.010-08:002021-12-21T13:00:09.612-08:00LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Webinar to Discuss New Results on the Gravitational-wave Background (4 Feb 2021)<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the webinar:</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lmGTuNP-1uk" width="400"></iframe>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Original post:</em> On Thursday 4 February, at 10:00 Eastern US (other time zones below), the LVK will host an online webinar entitled “Constraining astrophysical and cosmological gravitational-wave backgrounds with Advanced LIGO and Virgo's third observing run.” We will present results from our recent papers: <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.12248">arxiv.org/abs/2101.12248</a> and <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.12130">arxiv.org/abs/2101.12130</a>. The webinar is open to all.</p>
<p><a href="https://uwm-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UpKD_Sh1Sje76J6QBa2kZg">Register</a> for the webinar.</p>
<p>LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Webinar<br />
Thu, 4 Feb at 10:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)<br />
Thu, 4 Feb at 07:00 (US PST/Los Angeles)<br />
Thu, 4 Feb at 09:00 (US CST/Chicago)<br />
Thu, 4 Feb at 16:00 (CET/Pisa, Italy)<br />
Thu, 4 Feb at 20:30 (IST/Pune, India)<br />
Fri, 5 Feb at 00:00 (JST/Tokyo)<br />
Fri, 5 Feb at 02:00 (AEDT/Sydney)</p>
<p>A recording will be posted after the seminar for those who cannot attend the live event.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4>Listening for Signals from the Distant Universe</h4>
<h4><em>Constraining astrophysical and cosmological gravitational-wave backgrounds with Advanced LIGO and Virgo's third observing run</em></h4>
<p>Abstract: Advanced LIGO and Virgo have opened a new window to the Universe with the discoveries of individual compact binary mergers. The gravitational wave signals we have identified so far are only the tip of the iceberg; the very loudest signals that we can detect at our current sensitivity. Compact binary mergers from larger distances than we can detect, cusps and kinks in a web of cosmic strings created in the early Universe, the echo of the inflationary period thought to have happened a fraction of a second after the Big Bang -- these are all signals that can contribute to a gravitational-wave background. Using the most recent data from the third observing run, we searched for the presence of the gravitational-wave background. While we did not make a detection, we placed the best-yet upper limits on the strength of the background. We also showed that correlated instrumental noise -- which can negatively impact our search if present -- was well below the level of the sensitivity. We studied the implications of these results for two of the most promising sources. First, we considered the background made of all the compact binary mergers too far or too quiet for us to detect individually, and found that in future runs with more sensitivity we may be able to detect that background. Second, we looked at the implications for models of cosmic strings. We use information from state-of-the-art modelling of these fascinating objects, including for the first time models for the collision of two kinks. We placed upper limits both by performing a burst search for individual cosmic string events, and by looking at the gravitational-wave background, and we place the strongest constraints on the string tension in the literature. We also compared the upper limits to those placed by other measurements. In this webinar, we will discuss these results in detail and discuss the next steps for this approach to exploring the gravitational-wave Universe.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-12059005182983716142021-01-22T10:39:00.003-08:002021-03-09T16:47:22.896-08:00LIGO and Virgo to Receive IEEE Milestone Plaques<p><strong>Update:</strong> Watch the recording of the event:</p>
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9035vx0In6w" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe>
<p>On February 3, 2021, the IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) will host <a href="https://ieee-region6.org/2021/ieee-milestone-dedication-gravitational-wave-antennas/">an online event</a> to bestow its Milestone awards to the gravitational-wave observatories of LIGO and Virgo. These awards recognize "technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers and patents," according to the IEEE website. <a href="http://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/IEEE_Milestones_Program">More than 160 IEEE Milestones have been awarded to a range of projects</a>, including historical breakthroughs such as Benjamin Franklin's work on electricity and the electrical telegraph.</p>
<p>LIGO and Virgo are being honored for their gravitational-wave antennas, which made <a href="https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2016/02/ligo-detects-gravitational-waves.html">the first direct detections of gravitational waves</a>, ripples in space and time that were predicted by Albert Einstein more than 100 years ago.</p>
<p>The online event will include the dedication of bronze IEEE Milestone plaques at each observatory: the twin observatories of LIGO located at Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana; and the European Virgo detector located in Italy.</p>
<p>The online ceremony will also include a discussion led by Caltech's Rich Abbott, a lead LIGO engineer, that will include Caltech's Kip S. Thorne (BS '62), the Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus; Barry C. Barish, the Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of Physics, Emeritus; and MIT's Rainer Weiss, professor of physics, emeritus. <a href="https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2017/10/rainer-weiss-barry-c-barish-and-kip-s.html">The three panelists collectively won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work on LIGO.</a></p>
<p>Representatives from Virgo and Japan's <a href="https://ligonews.blogspot.com/2019/10/kagra-to-join-ligo-and-virgo-in-hunt.html">KAGRA, a partner observatory to LIGO and Virgo</a>, will also be speaking, including Nobel Laureate Takaaki Kajita, the director of KAGRA. Other dignitaries are expected to attend the event, including the governor of Washington state, Jay Inslee, and director of the National Science Foundation, Sethuraman Panchanathan.</p>
<p><em>Written by Whitney Clavin, Caltech Office of Strategic Communications</em></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6378219532306514968.post-86757001098723877122020-11-23T16:03:00.002-08:002020-11-24T10:54:29.765-08:00Winner of the 2020 Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration Announced<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMSVl4Ig9ruZvxGs9sD-plD6EHKtkjvBSjRI_bX0hXqh8c3qK3v5J-bcS0bTZ-Dk5IFqMJeZ7WwxhcTmrGjUs-S2KBlZTSReyxFbwqZ_UEu3Nhjgb6UOqI8s2J6_vFJgvolTW-qylfDsM/s975/siddharth-soni.png" style="display: block; padding: 0 1em 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="975" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMSVl4Ig9ruZvxGs9sD-plD6EHKtkjvBSjRI_bX0hXqh8c3qK3v5J-bcS0bTZ-Dk5IFqMJeZ7WwxhcTmrGjUs-S2KBlZTSReyxFbwqZ_UEu3Nhjgb6UOqI8s2J6_vFJgvolTW-qylfDsM/s320/siddharth-soni.png"/></a></div>
<p>The LIGO Laboratory congratulates <strong>Siddharth Soni of Louisiana State University</strong> for winning this year’s LIGO Laboratory Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration for his outstanding work to reduce transient noise due to stray light in the Advanced LIGO detector at LIGO Livingston Observatory during the Observing Run O3.</p>
<p>Soni identified, characterized, and mitigated multiple sources of stray light at the LIGO Livingston Observatory. Through his research, he discovered new light scattering paths and characterized new methods to mitigate these newly identified noise sources. Soni’s work directly reduced one of the most challenging sources of LIGO transient noise, one associated with multiple retracted LIGO-Virgo candidate event alerts, and allowed the confident detection of subsequent distant, weak gravitational wave signals.</p>
<p>Soni’s work is a major success for the greater LIGO Detector Characterization effort. Identifying noise transients, linking them to particular interferometer conditions, and eliminating the source of the noise is one of the most effective paths to improved detector sensitivity and greater astrophysical discovery potential for LIGO.</p>
<p>Soni will receive a $1000 prize and will present an invited seminar at one of the LIGO Laboratory sites (LIGO-Hanford, LIGO-Livingston, Caltech, or MIT) to share his achievements with LIGO Laboratory members. Soni will receive an award certificate remotely during the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration meeting in March 2021.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/award-excellence-detchar">Read more</a> about the LIGO Laboratory Award for Excellence in Detector Characterization and Calibration.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/award-excellence-detchar-winner-2020#2020-honorable-mentions">Find a list</a> of excellent LIGO Detector Characterization and Calibration projects that earned honorable mention for the 2020 award.</p>
<p><em>Image credit: Kevin Jacob</em></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com