Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations

INDIGO or IndIGO (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations) is a consortium of Indian gravitational-wave physicists.[1] This is an initiative to set up advanced experimental facilities for a multi-institutional observatory project in gravitational-wave astronomy located near Aundha Nagnath, Hingoli District, Maharashtra.[2]

INDIGO
Alternative namesLIGO-India
Location(s)India
Coordinates19°36′45″N 77°01′57″E
Telescope stylegravitational-wave observatory 
Websitewww.gw-indigo.org
Location of Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations

Since 2009, the IndIGO Consortium has been planning a roadmap for gravitational-wave astronomy and a phased strategy towards Indian participation in realizing a gravitational-wave observatory in the Asia-Pacific region. IndIGO is the Indian partner (along with the LIGO Laboratory in US) in planning the LIGO-India project.[3] LIGO-India is a planned advanced gravitational-wave detector to be located in India, whose concept proposal is now under active consideration by the science funding agencies in India and US.[4] The LIGO Laboratory, in collaboration with the U.S. National Science Foundation and Advanced LIGO partners from the U.K., Germany and Australia, has offered to provide all of the designs and hardware for one of the three planned Advanced LIGO detectors to be installed, commissioned, and operated by an Indian team of scientists in a facility to be built in India. A site near Aundha Nagnath in the Hingoli District, Maharashtra has been selected.[5][2]

Predicted date of commission is in 2024.[6]

Activities

The IndIGO Consortium has spearheaded the proposal for the LIGO-India gravitational-wave observatory, in association with the LIGO laboratory in US. In addition to the LIGO-India project, the other activities of IndIGO involve facilitating international collaborations in gravitational-wave physics and astronomy, initiating a strong experimental gravitational-wave research program in India, training of students and young scientists, etc.[7]

The observatory will be operated jointly by IndIGO and LIGO and would form a single network along with the LIGO detectors in U.S. and Virgo in Italy. The design of the detector will be identical to that of the Advanced LIGO detectors in the US.[8]

Purpose

The major purpose of IndIGO is to set up the LIGO-India detector, which would help enhance the network of gravitational wave detectors worldwide. The network includes the two LIGO detectors in the US (in Hanford and Livingston), the Virgo and GEO600 detectors in Europe, and the KAGRA detector in Japan. By simultaneous detection of the same event on these multiple detectors, a precise location in the sky can be pinpointed for the source of the detected waves. For example, the first detected gravitational waves by LIGO could only pinpoint the location of the black hole merger source to a broad area of the southern hemisphere sky. Using triangulation, this location information could be improved if the signal was detected on more than two detectors. Another important goal of IndIGO is to train scientists for successfully operating the LIGO-India detector, when commissioned. Previous studies have shown that a detector operational in India would improve source localization significantly, by an order of magnitude or more, depending on the region of the sky.[9][10]

Funding

The additional funding required to operate the LIGO-India detector is still under consideration by the Indian government under the aegis of its department of science and technology (DST) and department of atomic energy (DAE). The US National Science Foundation agreed to the relocation of one of the Hanford detectors (L2) to LIGO-India provided that the additional funding required to house the detector in India would have to be sponsored by the host country.[11]

On 17 February 2016, less than a week after LIGO's landmark announcement about the detection of gravitational waves, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Cabinet has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to the LIGO-India mega science proposal.[12]

Organization and membership

The three lead institutions in the IndIGO consortium are: Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), and Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT).[8]

IndIGO has currently over 70 member scientists. Bala Iyer of the Raman Research Institute is the Chairperson and Tarun Souradeep of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics is the Spokesperson. The international advisory committee is chaired by theoretical physicist Abhay Ashtekar and has members from several international as well as Indian research institutions. IndiGO is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

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See also

References
  1. "IndIGO | Welcome". Gw-indigo.org. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. Souradeep, Tarun (18 January 2019). "LIGO-India: Origins & site search" (PDF). p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  3. "LIGO-India". Indigo. 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. "IndIGO | LIGO-India". Gw-indigo.org. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  5. "First LIGO Lab Outside US To Come Up In Maharashtra's Hingoli". NDTV. 8 September 2016.
  6. Mann, Adam (4 March 2020). "The golden age of neutron-star physics has arrived". Nature. 579: 20–22. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00590-8.
  7. "IndIGO | Science Goals". Gw-indigo.org. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  8. Priyadarshini, Subhra (11 February 2016). "Gravitational waves send ripples of joy for LIGO-India". Nature India. India. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  9. Fairhurst, Stephen (28 September 2012), Improved Source Localization with LIGO India, arXiv:1205.6611, LIGO document P1200054-v6
  10. Schutz, Bernard F. (25 April 2011), Networks of Gravitational Wave Detectors and Three Figures of Merit, arXiv:1102.5421, Bibcode:2011CQGra..28l5023S, doi:10.1088/0264-9381/28/12/125023
  11. "Memorandum to Members and Consultants of the National Science Board" (PDF). National Science Board. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  12. "Cabinet has granted 'in-principle' approval to the LIGO-India mega science proposal for research on gravitational waves". twitter.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
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