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Physics/Applied Physics Colloquium: Sam Waldman (Caltech)

What Physics Colloquium
When 04 March 08
from 04:15 pm to 05:15 pm
Where Hewlett Teaching Center, Rm. 201
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Looking Towards Gravitational Wave Astronomy

The LIGO collaboration just completed one year of coincident observations with three gravitational wave detectors operating at design sensitivity.  The 2 km and 4 km LIGO detectors achieved a strain sensitivity better than dL/L = 10-21 RMS in a 100 Hz bandwidth, making astrophysically relevant observations a reality.  The 2005-2007 science run places limits on the GW emission from SGR-070201, the Crab pulsar, and the inflationary stochastic background.   The detectors' performance suggests an optimistic "golden" event rate of a few neutron star inspirals per year.  The future of LIGO looks equally bright with the Advanced LIGO detectors installation to begin in 2010, improving the GW sensitivity and bandwidth 10-fold.  In addition to their astrophysics potential, the quantum-limited Advanced LIGO detectors will provide an unequaled instrument to explore quantum non-demolition measurements and macroscopic quantum mechanics.


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