JAPAN/ITALY: Together with the Italian VIRGO (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations)
observatory, scientists were able to prove the presence of gravitational waves in 2016. This was made possible by the enormous laser interferometer known as LIGO.
After more than two years of maintenance and improvements, the LIGO is set to start its fourth phase of operations in March 2023. Together with the VIRGO Interferometer in Italy and the KAGRA observatory in Japan, LIGO and its two detectors will operate during its most recent operational run.
But after two years of significant improvements, LIGO’s more sensitive detectors will this time be able to detect even “fainter” gravitational waves than before. The most violent and intense processes in the cosmos produce gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time. In his general theory of relativity published in 1916, Albert Einstein made the first prediction about their existence.
According to the hypothesis, enormous, rapidly moving objects, such as neutron stars, would cause the space-time continuum to break down and release “waves” in all directions. These gravitational waves would move at the speed of light and convey information about their origins as well as details that could aid in understanding the fundamental properties of gravity.
The greatest gravitational wave observatory in the world, LIGO, is made up of two enormous laser interferometers that are spaced almost 3,000 kilometres apart. It is employed in the detection and comprehension of gravitational wave genesis. Very small measurements that are impossible to calculate using standard equipment can be calculated using interferometers.
The interferometers at LIGO, for instance, can measure a distance that is 1/10,000 the width of a proton away. Because of this, in 2016 with the aid of LIGO and VIRGO, scientists were able to definitively prove the presence of gravitational waves for the first time.
The most recent enhancements to LIGO have allowed it to be tuned to be sensitive enough to find gravitational waves from two neutron stars colliding across a distance of 619 million light-years.
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