Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
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LISA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna A proposal in response to the ESA call for L3 mission concepts Lead Proposer Prof. Dr. Karsten Danzmann Lead Proposer Prof. Dr. Karsten Danzmann [email protected] Will be available with at least 20% of his time to support the study activities throughout the study. Albert Einstein Institute Hannover Leibniz Universität Hannover and Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics Callinstr. 38, D-30167 Hannover, Germany Core Team Pau Amaro-Seoane [email protected], Heather Audley [email protected], Stanislav Babak [email protected], John Baker [email protected], Enrico Barausse [email protected], Peter Bender [email protected], Emanuele Berti [email protected], Pierre Binetruy [email protected], Michael Born [email protected], Daniele Bortoluzzi [email protected], Jordan Camp [email protected], Chiara Caprini [email protected], Vitor Cardoso [email protected], Monica Colpi [email protected], John Conklin [email protected], Neil Cornish [email protected], Curt Cutler [email protected], Karsten Danzmann [email protected], Rita Dolesi [email protected], Luigi Ferraioli [email protected], Valerio Ferroni [email protected], Ewan Fitzsimons [email protected], Jonathan Gair [email protected], Lluis Gesa Bote [email protected], Domenico Giardini [email protected], Ferran Gibert [email protected], Catia Grimani [email protected], Hubert Halloin [email protected], Gerhard Heinzel [email protected], Thomas Hertog [email protected], Martin Hewitson [email protected], Kelly Holley-Bockelmann [email protected], Daniel Hollington [email protected], Mauro Hueller [email protected], Henri Inchauspe [email protected], Philippe Jetzer [email protected], Nikos Karnesis [email protected], Christian Killow [email protected], Antoine Klein [email protected], Bill Klipstein [email protected], Natalia Korsakova [email protected], Shane L Larson [email protected], Jeffrey Livas [email protected], Ivan Lloro [email protected], Nary Man [email protected], Davor Mance [email protected], Joseph Martino [email protected], Ignacio Mateos [email protected], Kirk McKenzie [email protected], Sean T McWilliams [email protected], Cole Miller [email protected], Guido Mueller [email protected], Germano Nardini [email protected], Gijs Nelemans [email protected], Miquel Nofrarias [email protected], Antoine Petiteau [email protected], Paolo Pivato [email protected], Eric Plagnol [email protected], Ed Porter [email protected], Jens Reiche [email protected], David Robertson [email protected], Norna Robertson [email protected], Elena Rossi [email protected], Giuliana Russano [email protected], Bernard Schutz [email protected], Alberto Sesana [email protected], David Shoemaker [email protected], Jacob Slutsky [email protected], Carlos F. Sopuerta [email protected], Tim Sumner [email protected], Nicola Tamanini [email protected], Ira Thorpe [email protected], Michael Troebs [email protected], Michele Vallisneri [email protected], Alberto Vecchio [email protected], Daniele Vetrugno [email protected], Stefano Vitale [email protected], Marta Volonteri [email protected], Gudrun Wanner [email protected], Harry Ward [email protected], Peter Wass [email protected], William Weber [email protected], John Ziemer [email protected], Peter Zweifel [email protected] Consortium Members More than 300 scientists https://www.lisamission.org/consortium/ Supporters More than 1300 researchers https://www.lisamission.org/supporters/ Typeset: February 20, 2017 Page 2 LISA – Contents 1 Introduction 6 2 Science performance 7 2.1 SO1: Study the formation and evolution of compact binary stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. 8 2.2 SO2: Trace the origin, growth and merger history of massive black holes across cosmic ages . 8 2.3 SO3: Probe the dynamics of dense nuclear clusters using EMRIs ................... 10 2.4 SO4: Understand the astrophysics of stellar origin black holes .................... 11 2.5 SO5: Explore the fundamental nature of gravity and black holes ................... 11 2.6 SO6: Probe the rate of expansion of the Universe ............................ 12 2.7 SO7: Understand stochastic GW backgrounds and their implications for the early Universe and TeV-scale particle physics .......................................... 12 2.8 SO8: Search for GW bursts and unforeseen sources .......................... 13 2.9 Summary ................................................... 13 3 Mission Profile 14 3.1 Orbit ...................................................... 14 3.2 Launcher ................................................... 15 3.3 Concept of Operations ........................................... 15 3.4 Mission Lifetime ............................................... 16 3.5 Communication requirements and strategy ............................... 16 4 Model Payload 16 4.1 Description of the measurement technique ............................... 16 4.2 Key measurement performance requirement .............................. 17 4.3 Payload conceptual design and key characteristics ........................... 18 4.4 Interferometry Measurement System (IMS) ............................... 18 4.5 Gravitational Reference Sensor ...................................... 20 4.6 Performance assessment with respect to science objectives ...................... 21 4.7 Resources: mass, volume, power, on board data processing, data handling and telemetry . 21 4.8 Payload control, operations and calibration requirements ....................... 21 5 System Requirements & Spacecraft Key Factors 22 5.1 System Requirements ............................................ 22 5.2 Spacecraft Key Factors ........................................... 22 5.3 S/C Concept ................................................. 24 5.4 Budgets .................................................... 24 6 Science Operations and Archiving 27 7 Technology Development Requirements 29 7.1 Algorithms/ methodology / simulation / data processing ....................... 29 8 Management Scheme and Cost Analysis 30 8.1 LISA Consortium Organisation, Roles and Responsibilities ...................... 32 8.2 Payload and Instrument Description ................................... 34 8.3 International Partners ............................................ 35 8.4 Preliminary Program Schedule ...................................... 36 8.5 Preliminary Cost Analysis ......................................... 36 8.6 Risk analysis ................................................. 37 9 Conclusion 38 LISA – CONTENTS Page 3 Executive Summary The last century has seen enormous progress in our un- ploring redshifts larger than z ∼ 20 prior to the epoch of derstanding of the Universe. We know that the Uni- cosmic re-ionisation, and examining systems of black verse has emerged from the big bang, has been expand- holes with masses ranging from a few M⊙ to 108 M⊙. ing at large, and contains luminous baryonic structures Exquisite and unprecedented measurements of black that shape our cosmic landscape. We know that stars hole masses and spins will make it possible to trace the are continuing to form in galaxies, and that galaxies history of black holes across all stages of galaxy evolu- form and assemble along filaments of the cosmic web. tion, and at the same time test the General-Relativistic Powerful quasars and gamma-ray bursts were already nature of black holes through detailed study of the am- in place when the Universe was less than one billion plitude and phase of the waveforms of Gravitational years old, indicating places where the first black holes Wave strain. LISA will be the first ever mission to study formed. By using electromagnetic radiation as a tool the entire Universe with Gravitational Waves. for observing the Universe, we have learned that fluc- LISA is an all-sky monitor and will offer a wide view tuations at early epochs seeded the formation of all cos- of a dynamic cosmos using Gravitational Waves as mic structures we see today. However, we do not know new and unique messengers to unveil The Gravitational the nature of this dark component, which is revealed Universe. It provides the closest ever view of the infant through its gravitational action on the luminous mat- Universe at TeV energy scales, has known sources in ter, nor how, when, and where the first black holes the form of verification binaries in the Milky Way, and formed in dark matter halos. can probe the entire Universe, from its smallest scales We have come remarkably far using electromagnetic near the horizons of black holes, all the way to cosmo- radiation as our tool for observing the Universe. How- logical scales. The LISA mission will scan the entire ever, gravity is the engine behind many of the processes sky as it follows behind the Earth in its orbit, obtaining in the Universe, and its action on all forms of mass both polarisations of the Gravitational Waves simulta- and energy is dark. But gravity has its own messenger: neously, and will measure source parameters with as- Gravitational Waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime, trophysically relevant sensitivity in