Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100437
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$338,774.00
Summary
Advanced technologies for next generation gravitational wave detectors. This project aims to investigate a novel scheme that uses signals present in interferometers to directly control and stabilise the shapes of mirrors to atomic scale precision. The discovery of gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars was made possible by the development of large-scale, high-laser-power interferometers. The project builds on experience with current detectors and aims to develop techniq ....Advanced technologies for next generation gravitational wave detectors. This project aims to investigate a novel scheme that uses signals present in interferometers to directly control and stabilise the shapes of mirrors to atomic scale precision. The discovery of gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars was made possible by the development of large-scale, high-laser-power interferometers. The project builds on experience with current detectors and aims to develop techniques that will provide the next leap in sensitivity by improving control of the quantum state of light. The project will also test a new technique called white light resonance, which has the revolutionary capability of increasing sensitivity over a broad frequency range. The project will help maintain Australia’s significant impact on the worldwide effort to harness gravitational waves.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100144
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
Equipment for International Collaboration in Next Generation GW Detectors. Equipment for international collaboration in next-generation gravitational wave detectors:
This project aims to create a silicon optics research facility which combines Australian capabilities in silicon manufacturing at nanometre precision, with revolutionary crystalline mirror technology. The equipment is designed to enable international teams of physicists to research the optical and acoustic properties of silicon in ....Equipment for International Collaboration in Next Generation GW Detectors. Equipment for international collaboration in next-generation gravitational wave detectors:
This project aims to create a silicon optics research facility which combines Australian capabilities in silicon manufacturing at nanometre precision, with revolutionary crystalline mirror technology. The equipment is designed to enable international teams of physicists to research the optical and acoustic properties of silicon in high optical power and high precision silicon measurement systems. Research facilitated by this equipment may pave the way for the next generation of ultra-low-noise systems required for gravitational wave detection, while opening the possibility of multiple new applications in precision measurement devices. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101738
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,000.00
Summary
Discovering the most extreme pulsars with the next generation radio surveys. Finding radio pulsars has always been an extremely rewarding challenge and has led to Nobel Prize winning science. We are now entering a new era of radio astronomy and have new game changers, sensitive, wide-field-of-view imaging telescopes and massive compute resources, to search for extreme pulsars. Such pulsars, including pulsar-blackhole systems and sub-millisecond pulsars, cannot be found with traditional pulsar su ....Discovering the most extreme pulsars with the next generation radio surveys. Finding radio pulsars has always been an extremely rewarding challenge and has led to Nobel Prize winning science. We are now entering a new era of radio astronomy and have new game changers, sensitive, wide-field-of-view imaging telescopes and massive compute resources, to search for extreme pulsars. Such pulsars, including pulsar-blackhole systems and sub-millisecond pulsars, cannot be found with traditional pulsar surveys, but provide us unique laboratories to test gravity theories at ultra-strong gravitational fields and probe the state of matter at supra-nuclear densities. In this project I will leverage the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) to discover the most extreme pulsars in deep all-sky continuum surveys.Read moreRead less
Enhancing gravitational wave detector sensitivity and bandwidth for astronomy. This project aims to create small optomechanical devices that amplify the signals in gravitational wave detectors, increasing their sensitivity, especially for higher frequency signals. Calibrated against the 2015 first detection of gravitational waves from black hole mergers, this technology could allow humanity to listen to black holes merging up to 30 times every day, while giving much greater sensitivity to signal ....Enhancing gravitational wave detector sensitivity and bandwidth for astronomy. This project aims to create small optomechanical devices that amplify the signals in gravitational wave detectors, increasing their sensitivity, especially for higher frequency signals. Calibrated against the 2015 first detection of gravitational waves from black hole mergers, this technology could allow humanity to listen to black holes merging up to 30 times every day, while giving much greater sensitivity to signals from smaller black holes and neutron stars. The new technology, which uses nano-scale suspended tiny mirrors controlled by laser light, is likely to have applications in making sensors and quantum devices for advanced instrumentation, improve mineral exploration and measure tiny electromagnetic signals.Read moreRead less
Quantum enhancement of gravitational wave astronomy. The project aims to design, build and test a long wavelength ‘squeezed vacuum’ source reducing quantum noise by more than a factor of 10 across the audio frequency band with long term stability and reliability. This quantum technology is one of three key areas of improvement planned for the gravitational wave detector, LIGO Voyager. The project will enhance the sensitivity and the reach of gravitational wave astronomy and cosmology, and improv ....Quantum enhancement of gravitational wave astronomy. The project aims to design, build and test a long wavelength ‘squeezed vacuum’ source reducing quantum noise by more than a factor of 10 across the audio frequency band with long term stability and reliability. This quantum technology is one of three key areas of improvement planned for the gravitational wave detector, LIGO Voyager. The project will enhance the sensitivity and the reach of gravitational wave astronomy and cosmology, and improve the fidelity and reach of gravitational wave observations. Technologies developed may find application in other areas of precision measurements and gravitational wave observations .Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100121
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$720,000.00
Summary
Equipment for International Collaboration in Gravitational Wave Detection. Equipment for international collaboration in gravitational wave detection: This project will allow the Australian Consortium for Gravitational Astronomy to install optical equipment at its dedicated research facility, and to install data analysis pipelines on new iVEC Pawsey Centre GPU-enabled supercomputers. The equipment is required for research aimed at stabilising instabilities in the new international gravitational w ....Equipment for International Collaboration in Gravitational Wave Detection. Equipment for international collaboration in gravitational wave detection: This project will allow the Australian Consortium for Gravitational Astronomy to install optical equipment at its dedicated research facility, and to install data analysis pipelines on new iVEC Pawsey Centre GPU-enabled supercomputers. The equipment is required for research aimed at stabilising instabilities in the new international gravitational wave detectors currently being commissioned in the USA and Europe. Real time data from the new detectors will be analysed using innovative new techniques. Scientists across Australia will be able to rapidly localise potential gravitational wave sources to direct robotic telescope observations. This could enable the first detection of gravitational waves.Read moreRead less
Instrumentation for the era of gravitational wave science. This project aims to study noise sources that limit the low-frequency performance of gravitational wave antenna: thermal noise, quantum radiation pressure noise and Newtonian noise. Gravitational wave detection is a new way in which to observe our universe. Although detectors such as advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) should detect gravitational waves, further sensitivity improvement, particularly at low ....Instrumentation for the era of gravitational wave science. This project aims to study noise sources that limit the low-frequency performance of gravitational wave antenna: thermal noise, quantum radiation pressure noise and Newtonian noise. Gravitational wave detection is a new way in which to observe our universe. Although detectors such as advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) should detect gravitational waves, further sensitivity improvement, particularly at low frequencies, will be needed to provide event rates necessary for astronomy. Expected project outcomes will support the development of the first free mass interferometer to operate at 120K using silicon optics, a vital facility for the world community. Pushing the boundaries of measurement may also drive innovation in optical sensing with potential applications in defence, security and exploration.Read moreRead less
Detection and Localisation of Gravitational Waves using Pulsar Timing Array. This project aims to contribute to one of the most significant breakthroughs in science - the direct detection of gravitational waves. It will develop innovative techniques to detect and localise gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency band from radio timing data of millisecond pulsars. The technique developed by this project will help maximise the scientific output of Australia's legendary Parkes Radio Telescope ....Detection and Localisation of Gravitational Waves using Pulsar Timing Array. This project aims to contribute to one of the most significant breakthroughs in science - the direct detection of gravitational waves. It will develop innovative techniques to detect and localise gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency band from radio timing data of millisecond pulsars. The technique developed by this project will help maximise the scientific output of Australia's legendary Parkes Radio Telescope, and boost the opportunities of the first detections of gravitational waves using the upcoming radio telescopes, Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) and Square Kilometre Array (SKA).Read moreRead less
Capturing gravitational wave and electromagnetic flashes from binary merger. This project aims to contribute to one of the most momentous and long-anticipated discoveries in physics: the first detection of gravitational waves. The project plans to develop innovative technologies to detect gravitational waves using laser interferometers and enable prompt follow-up observations of gravitational wave sources by conventional telescopes. The outcome of this research would greatly help probe the natur ....Capturing gravitational wave and electromagnetic flashes from binary merger. This project aims to contribute to one of the most momentous and long-anticipated discoveries in physics: the first detection of gravitational waves. The project plans to develop innovative technologies to detect gravitational waves using laser interferometers and enable prompt follow-up observations of gravitational wave sources by conventional telescopes. The outcome of this research would greatly help probe the nature of matter and gravity at extreme densities.Read moreRead less
Precision tests of fundamental physics at the electroweak unification scale. The project aims to advance novel precision frequency generation and measurement techniques beyond the present state of the art, through the implementation of sapphire and quartz bulk acoustic wave resonator and related technology at low temperature. The project plans to apply this technological advancement to extremely sensitive tests of General Relativity able to probe suppressed effects emanating from the Planck scal ....Precision tests of fundamental physics at the electroweak unification scale. The project aims to advance novel precision frequency generation and measurement techniques beyond the present state of the art, through the implementation of sapphire and quartz bulk acoustic wave resonator and related technology at low temperature. The project plans to apply this technological advancement to extremely sensitive tests of General Relativity able to probe suppressed effects emanating from the Planck scale. Such tests include new tests of Lorentz invariance violations of photons and phonons, tests of fundamental constant invariance and other tests of fundamental physics. Results could lead to the discovery of the correct theory of quantum gravity, a major unsolved problem in contemporary physics.Read moreRead less