Status and perspectives of gravitational wave research

2014-01-14 @ ISAS

Date:       16:30-17:30, 14 January (Tue) 2014
Place:      Meeting Room A (New A-building, 2F)
Speaker:    Raffaele Flaminio (NAOJ)
Title:      Status and perspectives of gravitational wave research

Abstract: 
After a few years of data taking with Virgo and initial LIGO,
advanced gravitational wave detectors based on laser
interferometers are being built in the US (Advanced LIGO),
in Europe (Advanced Virgo) and in Japan (KAGRA).
These detectors are expected reach their design sensitivity
by the end of the decade and to open the field of gravitational
wave astronomy. In this talk I will briefly recall the most
promising sources of gravitational waves as well as the
motivations for pursuing the detection of the signals they emit.
I will then recall the principles and the issues involved in
the detection of gravitational waves with ground based laser
interferometers. The present status of the the detectors
development and in particular of the KAGRA project will be
described. The last part of the talk will be devoted to the
techniques involved in the analysis of the data collected
using this kind of detectors, to some of the results obtained
with Virgo and initial LIGO and to the perspectives of
detection with advanced laser interferometers.