2023-09-04 09:45:27
The search for gravitational waves, which are in a way wrinkles in space-time, will enter a promising new stage thanks to the development of a bigger and better gravitational wave detector than any previous one.
The Cosmic Explorer will be the first of a new generation of gravitational wave observatories that is expected to be able to capture wrinkles in the universe dating back to its infancy. To do this, the observatory is expected to be as big as a small city.
The conceptual design of the observatory is inspired by that of LIGO, the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in the United States.
LIGO “listens” for gravitational waves by measuring the timing of two lasers traveling from the same point, down two separate tunnels, and back. Any difference in their arrival times could be a sign that a gravitational wave passed through the L-shaped detector.
LIGO consists of two twin detectors, located at different locations in the United States. A similar set of detectors, Virgo, operates in Italy, along with a third, KAGRA, in Japan.
Together, this network of detectors captures the passage of gravitational waves every few days, generated by phenomena such as the merger between black holes or the merger between neutron stars.
Cosmic Explorer will be, in a sense, a giant LIGO. LIGO’s detectors are four kilometers long on each arm, and Cosmic Explorer will be 40 kilometers on each side, meaning it will be 10 times larger.
Artist’s recreation of a sector of the Cosmic Explorer. (Image: Angela Nguyen, Virginia Kitchen/Eddie Anaya/California State University Fullerton, Cosmicexplorer.org)
The scientists of the Cosmic Explorer project believe that the frequency of detection of this will be much higher than that of current observatories, on the order of a signal every few minutes instead of every several days.
The scientific discoveries arising from these detections could provide answers to some of the most important questions in cosmology.
The Cosmic Explorer is estimated to be ready for service in the mid-2030s. (Source: Amazings NCYT)
#Detect #gravitational #waves