LIGO's Impact on Science and Technology


  • Is general relativity the correct theory of gravity?
  • How does matter behave under extreme densities and pressures?
  • How abundant are stellar-mass black holes?
  • What is the central engine driving gamma ray bursts?
  • What happens when a massive star collapses?




LIGO and Astronomy

The direct detection of gravitational waves requires multiple detections from widely separated sites. To enhance detection capabilities, LIGO researchers are working closely with gravitational wave researchers at Virgo in Italy and GEO600 in Germany, and they are assisting the Japanese as they build KAGRA. In addition, for years, LIGO staff have been training Indian engineers to prepare for the construction of the third LIGO interfereometer in India.

Detecting gravitational waves isn't the only contribution to science LIGO wants to make, however. The next natural step in the evolving field of gravitational wave astronomy is to delve into the nature, dynamics, and structure of gravitational wave sources. Exploring this realm requires that electromagnetic (EM) astronomers get a chance to observe and analyze any light coming from source objects (gravitational waves are completely distinct from electromagnetic radiation, so the sources of gravitational waves are usually invisible to telescopes, except in a few exceptional cases). To that end,  LIGO partners with Earth-based and orbiting observatories that agree to search the skies for a glimmer of light resulting from a gravitational-wave causing event.

Less than two years after LIGO's first detection of gravitational waves, this momentous 'next step'  was taken. In August 2017, LIGO detected a gravitational wave from what immediately seemed to many to be a source never-before seen in its detectors. Combining their data, LIGO and Virgo quickly localized the region of sky from which this signal emerged. This information was shared with LIGO's EM partners (over 90-strong by the summer of 2017) and within hours, a clearly visible aftermath of what most believe was the collision of two neutron stars was observed in a telescope! For the first time, LIGO's and Virgo's gravitational wave vision enabled EM astronomers to directly observe a gravitational-wave generator within hours of its occurrence! Optical, x-ray, radio, infrared and gamma ray telescopes, as well as neutrino detectors all participated in the post-GW170817 observations, to date now believed to be the most studied single astronomical event in human history.



LIGO's Impact on the Broader Scientific and Technical Community

LIGO’s impact (and the impact of its sister facilities) reaches far beyond physics, astrophysics, and astronomy. The effort to design and build detectors like LIGO and to understand the characteristics of the expected gravitational-wave signals have resulted in multiple scientific and technological applications and advancements in many fields like those listed in the table below.

Technology category Technology advanced or invented by LIGO

Impact of gravitational-wave science on other fields

  • Optics, quantum mechanics and laser systems
  • Space science and technology
  • Geology and geodesy
  • Material science and technology
  • Cryogenics and cryogenic technology
  • Methods in theoretical physics

LIGO's impact on technology advancement and invention has expanded beyond astronomy and astrophysics. Several other fields are benefiting from LIGO's development. The Gravitational Waves International Committee (GWIC) document, “The future of gravitational wave astronomy: A global plan”, describes some of these other benefits.

Scientists and engineers in these other fields are already benefitting and will continue to benefit from advances gravitational wave detector technology and data analysis methods developed by LIGO.


Transfer of LIGO Technology Developments to the Broader Technology Enterprise


Technology category Technology advanced or invented by LIGO
High-performance optics and optical metrology Photo-thermal interferometer
Optical components
  • Adaptive laser beam shaping
  • High power modulator
  • Pound-Drever-Hall locking
  • Diode pumped laser
  • Slab laser
Ultrahigh vacuum components and techniques Vacuum cable clamp
Sensor technology Interferometric displacement sensor
Materials engineering Oxide bonding techniques
Computation and time-series data analysis Fast chirp transform
Computation and data analysis Blind data search method
Distributed computing Distributed identity management