LIGO India, Meant to Study Gravitational Waves, To Be Ready By ’24

The LIGO India centre will only be the third one in the world.

LIGO centre in California and India will get its own by 2024. (Photo Courtesy: LIGO)

It’s finally happening. The LIGO India project is likely to be commissioned in 2024. The LIGO India centre, which will study cosmic gravitational waves, will only be the third one in the world.

The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) is a massive observatory for detecting cosmic gravitational waves and for carrying out experiments. The objective is to use gravitational-wave observations in astronomical studies.

It would require Indian universities to churn out young researchers trained in the science, according to the announcement made by LIGO Laboratory.

We hope by 2024 a crew of Indian PhDs trained in the science (astrophysics) will be commissioning those machines and beginning first observations.

Fred Raab, Associate Director - Operations, LIGO Laboratory

The project operates three gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. Two are at Hanford in the state of Washington, north-western US, and one is at Livingston in Louisiana, south-eastern US.

The proposed LIGO India project aims to move one advanced LIGO detector from Hanford to India.

The effect will be dramatic because it will give us tremendous location information on where the (gravitational waves) sources are. You turn on the detector in India and everywhere in the sky you can pinpoint the sources much better.

Fred Raab

However, to what extent the activities succeed depends on availability of trained scientists.

Dubbing the detectors as "devilishly complex" and "the most sensitive measuring devices on earth", Raab said the intent is that "LIGO India will be equally sensitive" as the other detectors.