LIGO-India Project: India’s Role in Global Gravitational Wave Detection

What is LIGO?

●     These waves are produced by extreme cosmic events such as:

○     Black hole mergers

○     Neutron star collisions

○     Supernova explosions

○     The first gravitational waves were detected in 2015 by LIGO detectors in the United States, confirming Einstein’s century-old prediction.

How LIGO Detects Gravitational Waves

●     Interferometer Design: Each LIGO observatory consists of two 4-kilometre-long arms placed at right angles. These arms form a giant laser interferometer.

●     Laser Measurement Technique: Highly stable laser beams travel along both arms and are reflected by mirrors placed at their ends. If a gravitational wave passes through Earth, it slightly stretches one arm while compressing the other.

●     Extreme Measurement Precision: The changes measured are extremely tiny—thousands of times smaller than the width of a proton. Advanced sensors and vacuum systems allow the instrument to detect such minute disturbances.

Global Network of LIGO Observatories: At present, gravitational-wave detection is carried out by a small network of highly sensitive observatories:

●     LIGO Hanford Observatory – Washington, USA

●     LIGO Livingston Observatory – Louisiana, USA

●     Virgo detector – Italy

●     KAGRA – Japan

●     Once operational the LIGO-India observatory (expected around 2030), it will become the fifth major gravitational-wave detector in the world and the first in South Asia.

Role of LIGO-India

●     The Indian observatory will significantly improve the global gravitational-wave detection network by providing better triangulation of signals. With detectors spread across continents, scientists can more accurately determine the location of cosmic events.