Gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime travelling at the speed of light—are now detected several times each week by the Advanced LIGO observatories, and this consortium of UK labs will keep those detectors running and make them more sensitive. These waves carry information about cataclysmic events such as neutron stars colliding and black holes merging, events that also produce flashes of light and other signals. By combining gravitational-wave data with traditional telescope observations—a field called multi-messenger astrophysics—researchers can measure how fast the universe is expanding, probe the exotic matter inside neutron stars, and test Einstein’s theory of general relativity under extreme conditions. The UK groups will analyse the torrent of data from the current observing run (O4, running until June 2025), commission hardware upgrades for the next run (A+, starting mid-2027, supported by roughly £10 million of UK investment), and develop new mirror coatings and suspension systems that reduce noise and boost sensitivity. They will also test advanced control techniques on a 10-metre prototype interferometer in Glasgow. This is fundamental science. It will not produce a marketable product next year. But past investment in gravitational-wave detection—initially dismissed as pure curiosity—has already opened an entirely new way of observing the universe, and the sensitivity improvements pursued here will determine what future generations of detectors can see.
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Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts that accelerating systems in strong gravitational fields will emit vast amounts of energy in the form of gravitational waves (GW). These waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that propagate at the speed of light, carrying energy and information about the coalescence of compact objects including neutron stars (NSs) and black holes. The detection of GWs in 2015 marked the opening of a new window on the Universe, and in 2017 this was recognised through the award of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics with explicit recognition of the role of the UK as a critical part of the global team for hardware development critical to the success of Advanced LIGO (aLIGO). With the detection of GW170817, a binary NS with an electromagnetic counterpart, a new paradigm of multi-messenger astrophysics was firmly established. aLIGO is currently in its 4th observing run (O4) with several public alerts/detections per week, and a binary NS range of typically 150 Mpc (June 2024). Looking to the future, O4 will run until June 2025, generating significant amounts of high-quality astrophysical data for analysis. The LIGO detectors will be upgraded in preparation for O5 (A+) which is scheduled to start mid 2027 (half way into this new consolidated grant). A+ will see significant hardware upgrades, supported via the UK at the level of approximately £10 million (FEC) via a Glasgow-led A+ UK project. It is essential that the UK capitalises on the investment by STFC to maximise the science return from the current detectors, while at the same time developing the R&D for use in the LIGO detectors and essential to enable improvements in their sensitivity. This grant is a consortium application to allow the GW research groups at the Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde, and the West of Scotland, together with Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to: observe, analyse and interpret data from the aLIGO detectors, developing and applying novel data-analysis algorithms to characterise continuous wave, compact binary coalescence and unmodelled burst signals, and using compact binary detections to constrain source populations, infer cosmological parameters and measure the NS equation of state; play a major role in the commissioning, characterisation and operation of the aLIGO and the A+ detectors, utilising machine learning techniques to identify and characterise the glitches associated with the instruments, thus enhancing the science observing time/output of the instruments; advance our fundamental research on suspension systems/materials for use in the LIGO detectors and essential to enable sensitivity improvements, pioneering the R&D which supports the continuous improvement, optimisation and development of the existing LIGO detectors. undertake R&D on the deposition, modelling and characterisation of dielectric mirror coatings, essential for successful operation of the aLIGO/A+ detectors and their sensitivity enhancements, capitalising on world-leading coating facilities being developed in Scotland; enable experimental demonstration of low displacement noise suspended optics with our unique 10m prototype interferometer in Glasgow, upgraded in 2024 via joint STFC and University infrastructure funding. We will further test novel machine learning techniques to characterise and lock complex suspended cavities, for application to future upgrades within the current LIGO infrastructure and LIGO India. The UK groups involved in this consortium grant have a track record of delivering internationally leading scientific R&D in data analysis, source inference and hardware development.
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