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A bird's eye view of GEO600 |
The Albert Einstein Institute plays a major role in the ongoing
international effort to detect gravitational waves and to learn what
these waves can teach us about astrophysics and general relativity.
This page lists the ground-based gravitational wave detectors that are
currently in operation around the world, as well as planned
space-based detectors.
The GEO600 detector is a laser interferometric detector with 600m arm-length,
located in Ruthe, Germany (near Hannover).
It is operated by the Hannover branch of the Albert Einstein Institute. The GEO collaboration includes the University of Glasgow, Cardiff University, and the AEI, as well as the University of Birmingham and the University of the Balearics.
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Artist's conception of LISA (Courtesy ESA) |
The LISA mission is a space-based interferometric detector consisting of three spacecraft in orbit
around the Sun moving in the formation of an equilateral triangle
whose sides are 5 million kilometers long. LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), which is currently
scheduled to fly in 2013, is a joint ESA-NASA mission. Many AEI scientists
are working on LISA. Karsten Danzmann, Director of the AEI
Division of Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy, is
co-Chair of the LISA International Science Team.
The AEI collaborates closely with the American LIGO Project and is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC). The LIGO project consists of three interferometric detectors, two with arm lengths of 4 kilometers and one with arm length of 2 kilometers. They are located in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. Data from the GEO and LIGO detectors are analysed jointly within the LSC. Advanced LIGO is a proposal for an upgrade to the initial LIGO detectors. The GEO
collaboration, including the AEI, will be a partner in this upgrade.
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