New Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave Detector With Superconducting Instrumentation

by Prof. Ho Jung Paik (Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742)

Tuesday 13 Jan 2015, 16:00 → 18:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G. Marconi)

The recently proposed terrestrial low-frequency gravitational-wave detectors offer the possibility of studying gravitational-wave physics in a lower frequency range than the audio band km-scale interferometers (LIGO, VIRGO and KAGRA). The superconducting gravity gradiometer (SGG) is a gravitational-wave strain sensor in the 0.01 Hz to 1 Hz band. A low-frequency gravitational-wave detector based on the concept of the SGG, called a tunable free-mass gravitational-wave detector, was proposed as early as in 1979 by Wagoner, Wi! ll and Paik. We outline the design for a new type of low-frequency gravitational-wave detector based on the SGG approach. By using six levitated test masses, a spherical gravitational-wave detector capable of detecting the source direction and wave polarization could be constructed. The design concept of a new detector that could reach a sensitivity of 10-20/sqrt(Hz) at 0.1 Hz is discussed.