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A telescope for LISA – the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

  • Isabel Escudero Sanz EMAIL logo , Astrid Heske and Jeffrey C. Livas
Published/Copyright: November 21, 2018
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Advanced Optical Technologies
From the journal Advanced Optical Technologies Volume 7 Issue 6

Abstract

Gravitational waves are a prediction of Einstein’s general relativity theory. In autumn 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO; https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/) experiment reported the first detection of gravitational waves in addition to electromagnetic radiation from the collision of two neutron stars. This marks the first time that a cosmic event has been viewed in both gravitational waves and light and opens the door to a new type of astronomical observatory based on gravitational waves. The gravitational wave spectrum covers a broad span of frequencies and requires both space- and ground-based observatories to cover the full range. Space-based gravitational wave observatories, such as the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), operate at frequencies between 0.1 mHz and 1 Hz and complement the frequency range of 30–1000 Hz accessible by ground-based gravitational wave observatories, such as LIGO. A rich array of high-energy astrophysical sources is expected in the LISA measurement band. LISA was selected in 2017 as the third large mission of the Cosmic Vision program of the European Space Agency. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will collaborate on both the scientific and technical aspects of this mission. This paper addresses the design of the optical telescope as an essential component of LISA’s long-distance interferometric measurement system.

Keywords: gravitational waves; laser interferometry; space missions; telescope design

Acknowledgments

The LISA mission study is a team effort representing the combined collaborative achievement of all partners involved – the LISA consortium, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and U.S. university partners, the European Space Agency (ESA) LISA study team, and various industrial partners and suppliers. Many people contributed to the various aspects of the telescope design concepts described in this paper: Hui Li, Joseph Howard, Mark Wilson, Len Seals, Shannon Sankar, Ryan DeRosa, Michael Hersch, Andrew Weaver, Joseph Ivanov, and Angelique Davis from NASA; Guido Mueller and Paul Fulda from the University of Florida; and Dominic Doyle from ESA.

References

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Received: 2018-08-31
Accepted: 2018-10-23
Published Online: 2018-11-21
Published in Print: 2018-12-19

©2018 THOSS Media & De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/aot-2018-0044
Keywords for this article
gravitational waves; laser interferometry; space missions; telescope design

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Cover and Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. At odds with Nobel
  4. Community
  5. News
  6. Topical Issue: Space Optics
  7. Editorial
  8. Space optics
  9. Research Articles
  10. The European optical contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope
  11. The deployable telescope: a cutting-edge solution for high spatial and temporal resolved Earth observation
  12. Stray light and ghosts in catadioptric spectrometers: incorporating grating scatter measurements into simulations and ghost sensitivity into system design
  13. Absorbing Aerosol Sensor on Gao-Fen 5B satellite
  14. A telescope for LISA – the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
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