 | |
| Formation | 1997[2] |
|---|---|
| Membership | 1659 scientists[1] |
LSC Spokesperson | Stephen Fairhurst |
| Awards | 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[update] is Stephen Fairhurst of Cardiff University.
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
| Spokesperson Name | Term of office | Deputy or Assistant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainer Weiss | 1997-2003 | none | |
| Peter Saulson | 2003-2007 | none | |
| David Reitze | 2007-2011 | none | |
| Gabriela González | 2011-2017 | Marco 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
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Notes
- ^ The 11 February 2016 announcement team were Kip Thorne, David Reitze, Gabriela González, and Rainer Weiss.
References
- ^ "LSC/Virgo Census". myLIGO. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ^ "About the LSC". LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ Setting Priorities for Large Research Facility Projects Supported by the National Science Foundation. National Academies Press. 2004. pp. 129–136.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Whitney Clavin (2019-10-04). "KAGRA to Join LIGO and Virgo in Hunt for Gravitational Waves". Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ Twilley, Nicola. "Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found Them". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Naeye, Robert (11 February 2016). "Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of Science". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "LIGO Scientific Collaboration Elects David Shoemaker as Spokesperson". 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ "UW-Milwaukee astrophysicist elected spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration | Newswise: News for Journalists". www.newswise.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ "Cardiff scientist elected to lead global gravitational-wave collaboration". 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
External links
- Official website (in English, Spanish, and Hungarian)
- LIGO Magazine
