Exploring the Gravitational Universe with LIGO and Torsion-Balance Experiments

by Dr Krishna Venkateswara (Department of Physics University of Washington Seattle, USA)

Monday 25 Sept 2017, 16:00 → 17:00 Asia/Kolkata

AG 66 (Lecture Theatre)

Gravity is central to many of the puzzles in modern physics such as Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and the Early Universe. Gravitational-wave astronomy with compact binary mergers, supernovae, and other sources with LIGO, and precision experiments with Torsion-Balances can provide answers to these mysteries and pave the way to a better understanding of our universe. In the first part of my talk, I will describe the LIGO detectors and the unique gravitational-wave science they are enabling. I will focus on an important subsystem, the active seismic isolation system, which I helped to improve using ultra-sensitive ground-rotation sensors, developed at the University of Washington (UW). In the later part of my talk, I will describe some of the Torsion-Balance experiments being done at UW, focusing on two which can improve the search for short range violations of the inverse square law or spin-coupled forces, and recently proposed ultra-light bosonic dark matter.