LIGO-India

LIGO:

• LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory.
  
  
• The LIGO project operates three gravitational-wave (GW) detectors in USA. Two are at Hanford in the State of Washington and one is at Livingston in Louisiana.
  
  
• The discovery of gravitational waves earned three U.S. scientists (who were closely involved with LIGO) the Nobel for physics in 2017.
  
  

LIGO-India:

• The proposed LIGO-India project aims to move one Advanced LIGO detector from Hanford to India to detect gravitational waves.
  
  
• Proposed Location: Hingoli District of Maharashtra.
  
  
• Agencies involved:
  • It is a joint collaboration between the LIGO laboratories of the Caltech and MIT of the USA and three lead institutions in the LIGO-India consortium namely –
    • Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar;
      
      
    • Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune; and
      
      
    • Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore.
      
      
    
    
    
  • This project will be jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
    
    
  
  
  
• Timeline: The project was given in-principle approval by the Union Cabinet in 2016. It is expected to be completed by 2025.
  
  
• Significance:
  • It is an important project in the field of fundamental sciences in the country. It will help to launch an entirely new discipline of gravitational-wave astronomy.
    
    
  • Large separation of Indian observatory with the two in USA which will permit better detection of gravitational wave.