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Questions tagged [ligo]

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (short LIGO) is a large interferometer used for the detection of gravitational waves. Use this tag for questions about this specific installation; for questions more generally about the properties of gravitational waves or gravitation, use [gravitational-waves] and/or [general-relativity]

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (short LIGO) is an installation with two large interferometers in North America used for the detection of gravitational waves. It works closely together with the Virgo interferometer located in Italy.

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Why is the detection of gravitational waves so significant?

LIGO has announced the detection of gravitational waves on 11 Feb, 2016. I was wondering why the detection of gravitational waves was so significant? I know it is another confirmation of general relativity (GR), but I thought we had already…
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Why does the LIGO observation disprove higher dimensions?

I recently read this article which claims that last year’s LIGO observation of gravitational waves is proof that, at least on massive scales, there cannot be more than three spatial dimensions. I don’t understand the physics fully, so could someone…
DonielF
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Why does LIGO do blind data injections but not the LHC?

The LIGO group has a team that periodically produces fake data indicating a possible gravitational wave without informing the analysts. A friend of mine who works on LHC data analysis told me that none of the LHC groups do this. Why does one of…
tparker
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Why are LIGO's beam tubes so wide?

Gravitational wave detectors and particle accelerators have at least one thing in common -- they require long vacuum tubes through which a narrow beam is fired (a laser in the gravitational wave case, a particle beam in the accelerator case). In…
tcamps
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Did LIGO measurements prove that the speed of gravity equals the speed of light?

This question about the speed of light prompted my own question. In the linked question it is asked if there is experimental proof that the speed of gravity equals the speed of light. I was surprised not to see the LIGO measurements mentioned. The…
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How do LIGO and Virgo know that a gravitational wave has its origin in a neutron star or a black hole?

It is being said that gravitational-wave detectors are now able to distinguish neutron star waves from those originating from black holes. Two Questions: How do LIGO and Virgo know that a gravitational wave has its origin in a neutron star or a…
João Bosco
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Could (old) LIGO have detected GW150914?

The merging black hole binary system GW150914 was detected in only 16 days of aLIGO data at a signal level that appears to be well above the detection threshold at around 5 sigma. There are no further events between 4 and 5 sigma in the same…
ProfRob
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What will we learn from further LIGO events?

LIGO announced a third gravitational wave detection today. The news outlets didn't comment on significant differences between this one and previous detections. Did this third event teach us anything new about the cosmos? More generally, what do…
Yly
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How strong were the gravitational waves that LIGO detected at the source?

Congrats to the LIGO team on the announcement of their discovery of gravitational waves! The articles I've read say that the distortion we see here is much smaller than a proton. What about at the source? Would these waves have been strong enough to…
John
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How can LIGO still detect the gravitational waves?

I was watching this video by Veritasium (note: I don't have much physics knowledge). As I understand, at LIGO they detect the gravitational waves that were generated by the collision of the two black holes. How can they still measure these waves if…
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How does Zumberge's 1981 gravitational measurements relate to gravitational waves?

Gravitational waves were discovered 35 years ago without fanfare in 1981/2 by Zumberge, R L Rinker and J E Faller, then completely ignored. See: "A Portable Apparatus for Absolute Measurements of the Earth's Gravity", M A Zumberge, R L Rinker and…
Sandgroper
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Is LIGO flawed by the identical expansion of laser wavelength and arms in presence of a gravitational wave?

LIGO, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a large-scale physics experiment aiming to directly detect gravitational waves. The device measures the phase shift laser beams. If I understand this well, the measurement assumes that a…
Stefan Babos
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How does LIGO work?

LIGO is described as working as an interferometer, like a Michelson-Morley interferometer but with many reflections along the arms to increase the sensitivity. In MMs work it was assumed that the mirrors were held in a rigid relationship and so…
Brent Meeker
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What is black hole spin?

First of, congrats to the people at LIGO. In this article, the BBC notes that the latest LIGO results show that a new black hole was formed with a spin of $0.2$ (dimensionless number). What exactly is this number? Is this simply the ratio of the…
Aron
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Is there a good chance that gravitational waves will be detected in the next years?

Is there a good chance that gravitational waves will be detected in the next years? Theoretical estimates on the size of the effect and the sensitivity of the newest detectors should permit a forecast on this.
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