Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors

Abstract

Gravitational wave is predicted by Einstein’s general relativity, which conveys the information of source objects in the universe. The detection of the gravitational wave is the direct test of the theory and will be used as new tool to investigate dynamical nature of the universe. However, the effect of the gravitational wave is too tiny to be easily detected. From the first attempt utilizing resonant antenna in the 1960s, efforts of improving antenna sensitivity were continued by applying cryogenic techniques until approaching the quantum limit of sensitivity. However, by the year 2000, resonant antenna had given the way to interferometers. Large projects involving interferometers started in the 1990s, and achieved successful operations by 2010 with an accumulated extensive number of technical inventions and improvements. In this memorial year 2015, we enter the new phase of gravitational-wave detection by the forthcoming operation of the second-generation interferometers. The main focus in this paper is on how advanced techniques have been developed step by step according to scaling the arm length of the interferometer up and the history of fighting against technical noise, thermal noise, and quantum noise is presented along with the current projects, LIGO, Virgo, GEO-HF and KAGRA.