LIGO Scientific Collaboration

Last updated
LIGO Scientific Collaboration
Formation1997 [1]
Membership1659 scientists [2]
LSC Spokesperson
Stephen Fairhurst
Award(s) Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
Bruno Rossi Prize (2017)
Albert Einstein Medal (2017)
Princess of Asturias Award (2017)
Website www.ligo.org

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) is a scientific collaboration of international physics institutes and research groups dedicated to the search for gravitational waves. It complements the LIGO Laboratory, an organization based at the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology which constructed and now operates the LIGO observatories. The LSC contributes to developing detector technologies, assists with collecting and validating data from the LIGO and GEO600 detectors, and is responsible for analyzing the data and publishing scientific results. The LSC is led by a Spokesperson, which as of 2025 is Stephen Fairhurst of Cardiff University.

Contents

History

The LSC was established in 1997 as part of a reorganization of the LIGO Project under the leadership of Barry Barish. [3] Its mission is to ensure equal scientific opportunity for individual participants and institutions by organizing research, publications, and all other scientific activities, and it includes scientists from both LIGO Laboratory and collaborating institutions. Barish appointed Rainer Weiss as the first spokesperson. Subsequent spokespersons have been elected by members of the LSC.

LSC members have access to the US-based Advanced LIGO detectors in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana, as well as the GEO600 detector in Sarstedt, Germany. Under an agreement with the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), LSC members also have access to data from the Virgo detector in Pisa, Italy. While the LSC and the Virgo Collaboration are separate organizations, they cooperate closely and are referred to collectively as "LVC". [4] In 2019, the Japanese KAGRA collaboration signed an agreement to collaborate with the LSC and Virgo [5] and the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collective is called "LVK".

On 11 February 2016, the LIGO and Virgo collaborations [a] announced that they succeeded in making the first direct gravitational wave observation on 14 September 2015. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Collaboration leaders

Spokespersons of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, with Assistant or Deputy Spokespersons (when one was appointed)
Spokesperson NameTerm of officeDeputy or AssistantNotes
Rainer Weiss 1997-2003none
Peter Saulson 2003-2007none
David Reitze 2007-2011none
Gabriela González 2011-2017Marco Cavaglià, Assistant (2013-2017)
David Shoemaker [10] 2017-2019 Laura Cadonati, Deputy (2017-2019)
Patrick Brady [11] 2019-2025 Jess McIver, Deputy (2023-2025)
Stephen Fairhurst [12] 2025-2027 Peter Shawhan, Deputy (2025-2027)

Collaboration member groups

Institutional members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration as of July 2025, from public summary of the LSC roster https://my.ligo.org/census.php

InstitutionCountryWebsite featuring LIGO research
Albert-Einstein-Institut, HannoverFlag of Germany.svg  Germany Binary Merger Observations and Numerical Relativity, Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Albert-Einstein-Institut, Potsdam-GolmFlag of Germany.svg  Germany Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity
American University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Australian National University Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics
Bard College Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Bar-Ilan University Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Barry University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
California Institute of Technology Flag of the United States.svg  United States LIGO Lab, Caltech LIGO Astrophysics
California State University, Fullerton Flag of the United States.svg  United States Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Center
California State University, Los Angeles Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Cardiff University Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Gravity Exploration Institute
Carleton College Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute Flag of India.svg  India
Charles Sturt University Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Chennai Mathematical Institute Flag of India.svg  India
Chinese University of Hong Kong Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong
Christopher Newport University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Chung-Ang University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Colorado State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Concordia University Wisconsin Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Cornell University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Directorate of Construction Services and Estate Management, Department of Atomic Energy Flag of India.svg  India
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Eötvös Loránd University Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Eötvös Gravity Research Group
Ewha Womans University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Georgia Institute of Technology Flag of the United States.svg  United States Center for Relativistic Astrophysics
Goddard Space Flight Center Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Government Victoria College, Palakkad Flag of India.svg  India
Haverford College Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Helmut Schmidt University Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Flag of the United States.svg  United States
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Flag of India.svg  India
Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), São Paulo State University Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Flag of India.svg  India
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar Flag of India.svg  India
Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad Flag of India.svg  India
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Flag of India.svg  India
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata Flag of India.svg  India
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune Flag of India.svg  India
Inje University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Institut de Física d'Altes Energies Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Institute for Plasma Research, BhatFlag of India.svg  India
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics Flag of India.svg  India
Johns Hopkins University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Kennesaw State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Kenyon College Flag of the United States.svg  United States
King's College London, University of LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Leibniz University Hannover Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
LIGO Hanford ObservatoryFlag of the United States.svg  United States LIGO Hanford Observatory website
LIGO Livingston ObservatoryFlag of the United States.svg  United States LIGO Livingston Observatory website
Louisiana State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Experimental & Theoretical General Relativity
Maastricht University Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Marquette University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Marshall Space Flight Center Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Flag of the United States.svg  United States MIT LIGO
Missouri University of Science and Technology Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Monash University Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Montana State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Gravitational Physics at MSU
Montclair State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Moscow State University Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Nagoya University Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
National Central University Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan
National Institute for Mathematical Sciences Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
National Institute of Technology Calicut Flag of India.svg  India
National Tsing Hua University Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan
Niels Bohr Institute Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
Northeastern University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Northwestern University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Gravitational Waves & Multi-Messenger Astronomy
Pennsylvania State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos members in LIGO
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Queen Mary University of London Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Rochester Institute of Technology Flag of the United States.svg  United States Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
Royal Holloway, University of London Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology Flag of India.svg  India
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Flag of India.svg  India
Seoul National University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Sonoma State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Stanford University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Stanford LIGO Group
Stony Brook University, Center for Computational AstrophysicsFlag of the United States.svg  United States
St. Thomas University (Florida) Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Sungkyunkwan University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Swinburne University Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
Syracuse University Flag of the United States.svg  United States Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, MumbaiFlag of India.svg  India
Technical University of Braunschweig Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Trinity College (Connecticut) Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Tsinghua University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
University College London Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Adelaide Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
University of Antioquia Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
University of Arizona Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Arkansas Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Birmingham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
University of British Columbia Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
University of Brussels Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Precision Mechatronics Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of California, Davis Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of California, Riverside Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Cambridge Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Institute of Astronomy - Cosmology and Fundamental Physics
University of Chicago Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Florida Flag of the United States.svg  United States University of Florida Astrophysics
University of Glasgow Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Institute for Gravitational Research
University of Guadalajara Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
University of Hamburg Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
University of Manitoba Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Maryland, College Park Flag of the United States.svg  United States Gravitation Experiment Group
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Melbourne Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
University of Michigan Flag of the United States.svg  United States Michigan Gravitational Wave Group
University of Minnesota Flag of the United States.svg  United States LIGO@UMN
University of Mississippi Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Montréal / Polytechnique Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Nottingham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Oregon Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Portsmouth Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Rhode Island Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Sannio Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
University of Santiago de Compostela Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
University of Sheffield Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Southampton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Stavanger Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
University of Strathclyde Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Szeged Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
University of Texas at Austin Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Flag of the United States.svg  United States Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy
University of the Balearic Islands Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Relativity and Gravitation Group
University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-PacificFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
University of the West of Scotland Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Tokyo Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, Gravitational Wave Group
University of Utah Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Warwick Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
University of Washington Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Washington Bothell Flag of the United States.svg  United States
University of Western Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Flag of the United States.svg  United States Center for Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics
University of Zurich Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
Vanderbilt University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Villanova University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Washington State University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Western Washington University Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Notes

  1. ↑ The 11 February 2016 announcement team were Kip Thorne, David Reitze, Gabriela González, and Rainer Weiss.

References

  1. ↑ "About the LSC". LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "LSC/Virgo Census". myLIGO. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Setting Priorities for Large Research Facility Projects Supported by the National Science Foundation. National Academies Press. 2004. pp. 129–136.
  4. ↑ Gabriela González; Fulvio Ricci; et al. (LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations) (2015-12-06). "Open call for partnership for the EM identification and follow-up of GW candidate events" (PDF). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Whitney Clavin (2019-10-04). "KAGRA to Join LIGO and Virgo in Hunt for Gravitational Waves" . Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  6. ↑ Twilley, Nicola. "Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found Them". The New Yorker . ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  7. ↑ Abbott, B.P.; et al. (2016). "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger". Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (6): 061102. arXiv: 1602.03837 . Bibcode:2016PhRvL.116f1102A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102. PMID   26918975. S2CID   119286014.
  8. ↑ Naeye, Robert (11 February 2016). "Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of Science". Sky and Telescope . Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Castelvecchi, Davide; Witze, Alexandra (11 February 2016). "Einstein's gravitational waves found at last" . Nature News. doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.19361 . S2CID   182916902 . Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "LIGO Scientific Collaboration Elects David Shoemaker as Spokesperson". 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  11. ↑ "UW-Milwaukee astrophysicist elected spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration | Newswise: News for Journalists". www.newswise.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  12. ↑ "Cardiff scientist elected to lead global gravitational-wave collaboration". 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.