Proposal for UK Involvement in the Operation of Advanced LIGO

Within the next five years, and before the end of the period covered by this proposal, Advanced LIGO (aLIGO) is expected to detect gravitational waves and hence open a new era in astronomy. In this proposal we request support for essential infrastructure and travel costs required to ensure that the UK maintains its place among the leaders in the field and its partnership within the project.

Through the design and construction project "Advanced LIGO UK", and building on existing strengths, the UK has succeeded in making unique and fundamental contributions to major aspects of the aLIGO gravitational wave detectors in the US, primarily by transfer of silica suspension technology originally developed at Glasgow for GEO600. The resulting suspensions are absolutely central in enabling aLIGO to meet its sensitivity target. During the first phase of operations, the UK supplied equipment has been installed and integrated into two aLIGO detectors. As a direct result, UK groups are in a position to exploit the rich science data that will be produced by these detectors and their observing partners during the current decade.

We propose to strengthen the UK position by providing the support and infrastructure necessary for full involvement in the operation of the aLIGO detectors and therefore to remain active partners in the user-community group, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), through which data rights are earned and distributed.

Of similar importance is the need to ensure that UK-delivered equipment and facilities for the aLIGO detectors are fully exploited to maximise the science potential of aLIGO. This is true both in terms of their implementation within aLIGO, and later when it is planned that aLIGO will be further upgraded.

The applicant groups are recognised leaders in the field of analysis of data from gravitational wave detectors. Novel methods were developed for searches with GEO600 and other detectors operational over the past decade. Leadership in this area has ensured that the UK groups have strong roles in all of the LSC data analysis groups that coordinate search campaigns, set priorities and validate results. This complements the similarly strong role that the UK has on the hardware side, in the LSC's technical working groups.

The UK membership of the LSC is considerable - currently 12% by authorship. The ALUK project and exchange of data from GEO600 have allowed us to leverage top-level project management positions for a relatively small investment in the aLIGO hardware. This is set out in our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with LIGO, and includes a seat on the project Oversight Committee for an STFC representative and membership of the LSC Executive Committee. Of course we have full access to data and an equal share in the science return.

It is essential that we maintain involvement at the highest level as set out in detail in this proposal. We therefore request travel support for essential observing duties and resources to allow us to provide technical support during detector commissioning and operations. Analysis of the data requires access to high performance computer infrastructure. With the first detections, demand for computing resources is certain to be high. Therefore, to provide a solid basis for exploitation of aLIGO science data within the UK we request computing infrastructure resources commensurate with our membership of the LSC.

At the US LIGO sites - the LIGO Livingston and LIGO Hanford Observatories (LLO/LHO) - first tests of the completed detectors are underway, and in November 2014, just a few months after first operation, the LLO detector achieved sensitivity to coalescing binary neutron stars at over 50 megaparsec (Mpc) distance - well on target for initial science runs to start in 2015.

In terms of academic impact, the immediate beneficiaries include the UK astronomy community - extending far beyond the applicant groups, who will gain access to Advanced LIGO data at the time when the first gravitational wave signals are most likely to be seen. In the longer term, the research will radically alter our understanding of the Universe, including information on the nature of neutron stars and black holes, and through opportunities for precision cosmology. This will benefit the widest astronomy/astrophysics community, internationally.

With regard to societal impact, cosmology and astrophysics are exciting areas and reliably excellent topics for public outreach. There will be considerable impact resulting from the discovery of gravitational waves and the burgeoning science that will inevitably result. To have a major focus for this new science in the UK should help revitalise public interest at a time when economic pressures could potentially fight against the growth of science in our community. There is no doubt that a discovery of gravitational waves would galvanise public interest at all levels from school pupils up, particularly in or around the Einstein centenary celebrating general relativity as a breakthrough in the understanding gravity, and the International Year of Light. An improved understanding of cosmology and compact-object astrophysics, of the most impressive and even violent nature, is bound to catch the public imagination, and produce demand for creative works such as television programmes. A concrete example of direct benefit of Advanced LIGO UK to the popular culture exists in the Science Museum, London, where pre-prototype test mass and the metal structural components of an Advanced LIGO test-mass suspension, both made available by the collaboration, have been on display for several years.

The earlier Advanced LIGO UK construction project brought direct benefit to several areas of UK industry both through the placement of over £3M of contracts, but also by pushing manufacturing techniques to reach higher standards of quality and precision required for our work. Examples include: optics, precision mechanics and electronics. In some cases these companies have subsequently been able to market the resulting technology, nationally and internationally winning substantial contracts.

Work carried out under our present Advanced LIGO Operations grants has included developments in the areas of grid computing, particularly in the field of authentication and access control - an area where the UK already leads. The current proposal will lead to further work in this area.

In summary there is a wide range of potential impact. The majority of these should start to be realised well within the duration of the project (it is more than likely that a discovery will be made during the period of this proposal). By the close of the decade gravitational wave science should be becoming mature, and the consequences for both science and its public understanding should have attained major proportions as one of the most exciting areas of new science.