LIGO Project

In February, 2016, the Union Cabinet had approved the LIGO-India project (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory in India) proposal for research on gravitational waves. This approval came after historic first time detection of gravitational waves that had opened up of a new window on the universe to unravel some of its greatest mysteries.

• LIGO-India project is piloted by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST). It will give impetus to scientific research in the country.
• It will establish a state-of-the-art Gravitational Wave Observatory in India in collaboration with the US based LIGO Laboratory run by Caltech and MIT.
• The project will help Indian scientists and engineers to take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier by doing research into the realm of gravitational wave.
• It will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology in India’s scientific industry as domestic players will engaged in the construction of 8 kilometre long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum of observatory on a levelled terrain.

Background

The proposal for LIGO-India project was made under the India-United States cooperation agreement US LIGO lab and US National Science Foundation (NSF) in October 2011 for locating an interferometer in India. Formal proposal in this regard was submitted to the DAE and DST by the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations (IndiGO) Consortium (formed in 2009). Under this proposal, US was going to provide all the hardware and technology required for project and India’s responsibility will be to construct and operate it.