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Unveiling the Universe: LIGO's Gravitational Wave Journey

Dive into the world of LIGO and gravitational waves, exploring star evolution, supernovae, and the groundbreaking LIGO project milestones. Discover the wonders of the cosmos through precision science and intricate research.

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Unveiling the Universe: LIGO's Gravitational Wave Journey

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  1. LIGO“First Lock” Barry Barish 21 October 2000

  2. LIGO LIGO is operated by MIT & Caltech for the National Science Foundation Hanford Observatory Livingston Observatory

  3. LIGO Livingston Observatory

  4. LIGO Hanford Observatory

  5. LIGObeam tube LARGEST HIGH VACUUM SYSTEM IN THE WORLD ~ 16,000 CUBIC METERS • LIGO beam tube under construction in January 1998 • 65 ft spiral welded sections • girth welded in portable clean room in the field NO LEAKS !! 1.2 m diameter - 3mm stainless 50 km of weld

  6. LIGOvacuum equipment

  7. Detection of Gravitational Waves precision optical instrument LIGO interferometer • LIGO (4 km) will be able to detect a stretch (squash) of 10-18 m !! ( a small fraction of the size of a proton) • This will enable detection of gravitational waves from a distance as far as 600 Million light years

  8. Einstein’s Theory of Gravitation Newton’s Theory “instantaneous action at a distance” Einstein’s Theory information carried by gravitational radiation at the speed of light

  9. Evolution of Stars nuclear burning vs gravity • Helium Burning Main Sequence in massive stars, a series of • nuclear burning stages transforms the star into an onion-like shell structure, until Silicon and Sulfur burning create a core of iron (and other iron-peak elements. • Each successive nuclear burning stage releases less energy than the previous stage, so the lifetime in each stage becomes progressively shorter. For a 20 M star: Main sequence lifetime ~ 10 million years Helium burning (3-) ~ 1 million years Carbon burning ~ 300 years Oxygen burning ~ 2/3 year Silicon burning ~ 2 days

  10. explosion of a star supernova sequence gravitational waves n’s light

  11. SN 1987A Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) First SN with observations of star that exploded - Sk -69 202 Supergiant with T = 16000K Luminosity = 100,000L Mass ~ 20M

  12. Supernovae Observations Kepler Super Nova Remnant HISTORICAL SUPERNOVAE (OUR GALAXY) • SN1006 - Centaurus in the southern sky • SN1054 - The Crab Supernova in Taurus recorded by Chinese and Native American astronomers • SN 1572 - Tycho’s Supernova, studied in detail by Tycho Brahe • SN 1604 - Kepler’s Supernava • +other possible Milky Way supernovae • our galaxy 1/50 years • within Virgo Cluster ~ 1 year Cygnus Loop Remnant

  13. Supernova Remnants pulsars PSR 0329+54 is among the strongest known pulsars (radio signal – Arecibo)

  14. Birth and Death of Stars time evolution Supernovae

  15. Supernovae gravitational waves Non axisymmetric collapse ‘burst’ signal Rate 1/50 yr - our galaxy 3/yr - Virgo cluster

  16. LIGO Plansmajor milestones • Funding Approved by NSF • 1996 Began Construction • 1999 Construction Complete (vacuum achieved in LIGO) • 2000 “First Lock” (complete operating LIGO interferometer) • 2001 First Coincidence (both LIGO sites) • 2002+ Initiate Search for Gravitational Waves (Science !)

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