latest news
Astronomy's Messengers comes to universities in the southeastern US
In keeping with LIGO's continuing mission to educate the public of its activities, "Astronomy's Messengers: listening to the universe with gravitational waves", a touring exhibit developed by LSC scientists in conjunction with Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership is traveling in the southeastern United States. Information about the exhibit including tour dates, photos, and locations can be found here.
Quantum Goes Massive!
A new result published in the July 16 edition of the New Journal of Physics shows how the LIGO interferometers can be used to probe quantum phenomena on a macroscopic scale.
An LSC experiment led by Nergis Mavalvala and Thomas Corbitt of MIT has pointed the way toward quantum cooling of a macroscopic object toward a temperature of absolute zero. Using both frictionless damping force and magnetic restoring forces inherently present in the suspended interferometer mirrors, they showed that it is possible to cool one of the internal mirror modes to about 1 millionth of a degree above absolute zero. These experiments suggest that it should be possible to observe quantum mechanical behaviour on macroscopic objects, something long thought impossible.
You can read more at Science Daily and download the article for free here.
The LSC at the 2009 April APS Meeting!
The science of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration was on display at the April APS meeting in Denver, CO (May 2-5) with a total of 25 talks presented on behalf of the LSC by scientists from around the globe.
Highlights from the meeting include five invited presentations by LSC members Laura Cadonati of the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking on "Gamma Ray Burst Observations with LIGO", Matt Evans of MIT giving an "Overview of the LIGO-GEO S5 and Virgo VSR1 Science Runs, and Sources of Transient Gravitational Waves" Vuk Mandic of the University of Minnesota, "Gravitational Wave Astrophysics using LIGO", Nergis Mavalvala of MIT "Beyond the quantum limit in gravitational wave detectors" and Steve McGuire, Southern University and A&M College, speaking on "Materials Science in LIGO".
Astronomy's Messengers
Fourth grade children watching a simulation of colliding black holes in the Astronomy's Messengers LIGO exhibit at the University of Mississippi.