Catching a Wave: Interesting Science Discovered en Route to the Detection of Gravitational Waves using Ground-based Laser Interferometers

Ra Inta
(Australian National University)


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It is difficult to be a member of the gravitational physics community and not be aware of the large laser-based gravitational wave (GW) observatories forming the LIGO-Virgo network. Although they have not yet made a positive direct detection, they have already established useful limits on GW emission by a range of astrophysical objects and systems.

Here I will present an update on the LIGO-Virgo observatories, what they are intended to achieve, and what they have achieved to date. Not only have the observatories themselves undergone substantial upgrades, but the data analysis community is also continuously maturing, developing more sophisticated and sensitive search methods. I will describe some of the more recent and interesting work in the four main categories expected to yield detection, those from burst, compact binary coalescence, stochastic and continuous GW sources. Finally I will discuss some aspects of the future of the LIGO-Virgo project.