The existence of gravitational waves is the most prominent of Einstein’s predictions that has not yet been directly verified. The space project LISA shares its goal and principle of operation with the ground-based interferometers currently being operated, the detection and measurement of gravitational waves by laser interferometry. Ground and space detection differ in their frequency ranges, and thus in the detectable sources. Toward low frequencies, ground-based detection is limited by seismic noise, and yet more fundamentally by “gravity-gradient noise,” thus covering the range from a few Hz on upward to a few kHz. It is only in space that detection of signals below, say, 1 Hz is possible, opening a wide window to a different class of interesting sources of gravitational waves. The project LISA consists of three spacecraft in heliocentric orbits, forming a triangle of 5 million km sides. A technology demonstrator, the LISA Pathfinder, designed to test vital LISA technologies, is to be launched by ESA in 2009.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
A. Einstein, Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. (1916) 688.
A. Einstein, Sitzungsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. (1918) 154.
K. Thorne: Gravitational Radiation, bf in: S.W. Hawking and W. Israel (eds.) 300 Years of Gravitation (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1987), p.330.
K. Thorne: Gravitational Radiation - A New Window Onto the Universe, Rev. Mod. Astron. 10, 1 (1997).
A. Buonanno and T. Damour: Effective one-body approach to general two-body dynamics, Phys. Rev. D 59, 084006 (1999).
B.F. Schutz: Lighthouses of gravitational wave astronomy - Prospects with LIGO and LISA, in: M. Gilfanov, R. Sunyaev, E. Churakov (Eds.) Lighthouses of the Universe, ESO Astrophysics Symposia, (2002), p.207.
D. Sigg: Status of the LIGO detectors, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S51 (2006).
F. Acernese, P. Amico, M. Al-Shourbagy, S. Aoudia, et al.: The status of VIRGO, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S63 (2006).
H. Lück, M. Hewitson, P. Ajith, B. Allen, et al.: Status of the GEO600 detector, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S71 (2006).
B.J. Meers: Recycling in laser-interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, Phys. Rev. D 38, 2317 (1988).
G. Heinzel et al.: Dual recycling for GEO 600, Class. Quantum Grav. 19, 1547 (2002).
M. Ando: Current status of the TAMA300 gravitational-wave detector, Class. Quantum Grav. 22, S881 (2005).
D.E. McClelland, S.M. Scott, M.B. Gray, A.C. Searle, et al.: Status of the Australian consortium for interferometric gravitational astronomy, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S41 (2006).
I. Zawischa et al.: The GEO 600 laser system, Class. Quantum Grav. 19, 1775 (2002).
A. Rüdiger et al.: A mode selector to suppress fluctuations in laser beam geometry, Opt. Acta 28, 641 (1981).
D. Schnier et al.: Power recycling in the Garching 30-m prototype interferometer for gravitational-wave detection, Phys. Lett. A 225, 210 (1997).
K. Kuroda: Large-scale cryogenic gravitational wave telescope and R&D, in: S. Kawamura and N. Mio (Eds.) Gravitational Wave Detection II, (Universal Academy Press 2000), p.45.
LISA Pre-Phase A Report, 2nd edition, Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Report 233 (July 1998); often referred to as PPA2.
LISA: System and Technology Study Report, ESA document ESA-SCI(2000)11, July 2000, revised as ftp://ftp.rzg.mpg.de/pub/grav/lisa/sts/sts_1.05.pdf
M. Tinto et al.: Time-delay interferometry for LISA, Phys. Rev. D 65, 082003 (2002).
V. Josselin, M. Rodrigues, and P. Touboul: Inertial sensor concept for the gravity wave missions, Acta Astronautica 49/2, 95 (2001).
A. Cavalleri et al.: Progress in the development of a position sensor for LISA drag-free control, Class. Quantum Grav. 18, 4133 (2001).
T.J. Kane and R.L. Byer: Monolithic, unidirectional single-mode Nd:YAG ring laser, Opt. Lett. 10, 65 (1985).
A.C. Nilsson, E.K. Gustafson, and R.L. Byer: Eigenpolarization Theory of Monolithic Nonplanar Ring Oscillators, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 25, 767 (1989).
I. Freitag, A. Tünnermann, and H. Welling: Power scaling of diode-pumped monolithic Nd:YAG lasers to output powers of several watts, Opt. Commun. 115, 511 (1995).
M. Tröbs, P. Weßels, and C. Fallnich: Power- and frequency-noise characteristics of an Yb-doped fiber amplifier and actuators for stabilization, Opt. Express. 13, 2224 (2005).
R.W.P. Drever, J.L. Hall, F.V. Kowalski, J. Hough, G.M. Ford, A.J. Munley, and H. Ward: Laser Phase and Frequency Stabilization Using an Optical Resonator, Appl. Phys. B 31, 97 (1983).
B.S. Sheard, M.B. Gray, D.E. McClelland, and D.A. Shaddock: Laser frequency stabilization by locking to a LISA arm, Phys. Lett. A 320, 9 (2003).
J. Sylvestre: Simulations of laser locking to a LISA arm, Phys. Rev. D. 70, 102002 (2004).
A.F.G. Marin, G. Heinzel, R. Schilling, A. Rüdiger, et al.: Phase locking to a LISA arm: first results on a hardware model, Class. Quantum Grav. 22, S235 (2005),
M. Tröbs: Laser development and stabilization for the spaceborne interferometric gravitational wave detector LISA, PhD thesis, (University of Hannover, 2005).
V. Corbin and N.J. Cornish: Detecting the cosmic gravitational wave back-ground with the Big Bang Observer, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, 2435 (2006).
S. Kawamura, T. Nakamura, M. Ando, N. Seto, et al.: The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna - DECIGO, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S125 (2006).
W.-T. Ni: ASTROD - an overview, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 11, 947 (2002).
Ni, W.: This volume.
G. Heinzel, C. Braxmaier, K. Danzmann, P. Gath, et al.: LISA interferometry: recent developments, Class. Quantum Grav. 23, S119 (2006).
LASER INTERFEROMETER SPACE ANTENNA: 6th International LISA Symposium, Greenbelt, Maryland (USA), June 2006, AIP conference proceedings 873, 3-706 (2007).
G. Heinzel, C. Braxmaier, R. Schilling, A. Rüdiger, et al.: Interferometry for the LISA technology package (LTP) aboard SMART-2, Class. Quantum Grav. 20, S153 (2003).
G. Heinzel, V. Wand, A. Garcia, O.P. Jennrich, et al.: The LTP interferometer and phasemeter, Class. Quantum Grav. 21, S581 (2004).
G. Heinzel, C. Braxmaier, M. Caldwell, K. Danzmann, et al.: Successful testing of the LISA Technology Package (LTP) interferometer engineering model, Class. Quant. Grav. 22, S149 (2005).
R. Schilling: Angular and frequency response of LISA, Class. Quantum Grav. 14, 1513 (1997).
G. Giampieri, R. Hellings, M. Tinto, and J. Faller: Algorithms for unequal-arm Michelson interferometers, Opt. Comm. 123, 669 (1996).
M. Tinto and J.W. Armstrong: Cancellation of laser phase noise in an unequal-arm interferometer detector of gravitational radiation, Phys. Rev. D 59, 102003 (1999).
F.B. Estabrook, M. Tinto, and J.W. Armstrong: Time-delay analysis of LISA gravitational wave data: Elimination of Spacecraft motion effects, Phys. Rev. D 62, 042002 (2000).
B. Allen: The stochastic gravity-wave background: sources and detection, in: Relativistic gravitation and gravitational radiation, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997), p.373 (p. 381/382).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rüdiger, A., Heinzel, G., Tröbs, M. (2008). LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, Requires the Ultimate in Lasers, Clocks, and Drag-Free Control. In: Dittus, H., Lammerzahl, C., Turyshev, S.G. (eds) Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free Control. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 349. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-34377-6_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-34377-6_20
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-34376-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-34377-6
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)