LISA
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna for gravitational wave measurements
- authored by
- KARSTEN DANZMANN
- Abstract
LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is designed to observe gravitational waves from violent events in the Universe in a frequency range from 10−4 to 10−1 Hz which is totally inaccessible to ground based experiments. It uses highly stabilised laser light (Nd:YAG, λ= 1.064 μm) in a Michelson‐type interferometer arrangement. A cluster of six spacecraft with two at each vertex of an equilateral triangle is placed in an Earth‐like orbit at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun, and 20° behind the Earth. Three subsets of four adjacent spacecraft each form an interferometer comprising a central station, consisting of two relatively adjacent spacecraft (200 km apart), and two spacecraft placed at a distance of 5x106 km from the centre to form arms which make an angle of 60° with each other. Each spacecraft is equipped with a laser. A descoped LISA with only four spacecraft has undergone an ESA assessment study in the M3 cycle, and the full 6‐spacecraft LISA mission has now been selected as a cornerstone in the ESA Horizon 2000‐plus programme.
- Organisation(s)
-
Institute of Gravitation Physics
- External Organisation(s)
-
Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ)
- Type
- Article
- Journal
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Volume
- 759
- Pages
- 481-484
- No. of pages
- 4
- ISSN
- 0077-8923
- Publication date
- 09.1995
- Publication status
- Published
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience, General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology, History and Philosophy of Science
- Electronic version(s)
-
http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0013-5B89-F (Access:
Open)
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb17590.x (Access: Closed)
