Past Present Future
European Gravitational Observatory
EGO
“Raison d'être”, origin, structure & future perspectives
Federico Ferrini – EGO Director
The VIRGO Collaboration First studies:
– Brillet (Nice): optics– Giazotto (Pisa): seismic isolation
Collaboration Italy - France established in 1992
CNRS and INFN approved the VIRGO project.
1997 Construction starts near Pisa
The history of the project
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Foundation of EGO in 2000 2004/2005 Commissioning 2006 Physics
Netherlands: Nikhef joined EGO in 2006 EGO Council approved Advanced VIRGO
in 2009
Poland (POLGRAW) & Hungary (RMKI) joined EGO in 2010
The history of the project
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
EGO: French-Italian
Consortium to support & operate VIRGO
EGO in synthesis
and promote cooperation for
gravitational waves physics
in Europe
EGO Council(INFN/CNRS/NIKHEF)
STACScientific and Technical Advisory Committee
EGO DirectorF. FERRINI
Virgo SpokespersonJ.Y. VINET
AdministrationSite & InfrastructureInterferometer operation Computing
Technical Coordination for upgrades
Directorate services
EGO Staff ~ 65 FTE
The Structure
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
President: Stavros KatsanevasVice-President: Benedetto D’Ettorre
CNRS delegates:Jean-Marie HameuryPascale Rubin
INFN delegates:Angelo ScribanoEnrico Iacopini
NIKHEF observer: Frank Linde
Advisors:Isabelle AleciRoberto Pellegrini
EGO Council
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
STAC
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
EGO/VIRGOA large infrastructure :
• 3 km long arms: ΔL / L = 10-21 • 60 ha of land; ~150000 m3 of buildings• The largest high vacuum system in Europe : 7000 m3
P ≅10-9 mbar• High tech optics• Several class 10 clean rooms • 15000 m3 thermo stabilized to +- 0.2 °C• 600 kW electrical power• 24h/24h data taking; 1 TB/day collected
EGO / VIRGO LAPP – Annecy NIKHEF – Amsterdam RMKI - Budapest INFN – Firenze-Urbino INFN – Genova INFN – LNF
LMA – Lyon INFN – Napoli OCA – Nice LAL – Orsay APC – Paris LKB - Paris
INFN – Padova-Trento INFN – Perugia INFN - Pisa INFN – Roma 1 INFN – Roma 2 POLGRAV - Warsaw
The Consortium shall have as its purpose the promotion of research in the field of gravitation in
Europe.
EGO pursues the following objectives:“Ensures the construction of the antenna VIRGO, its operation, maintenance and upgrade as well as its exploitation.”
EGO Aims according to Statute
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
EGO FunctioningHuman Resources:
Staff: 64.5 FTE36: Engineers and applied physicistsNationalities: Italy +
15 FTE: France, Germany, The Netherlands United Kingdom, Russia
Financial Resources:CNRS (France)INFN (Italy)
Nikhef (The Netherlands)RMKI (Hungary)Polgrav (Poland)
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
To ensures operation, maintenance and upgrade of the interferometer VIRGO:
Infrastructures & laboratories:
OpticsElectronicsUltra-VacuumCryogenicsComputing
EGO Support to VIRGO
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Optics Group: Main tasks• Maintenance and support for all the on-site Virgo activity in which
optical and electro-optical expertise is required, in particular:– Injection and detection system– Local controls– Locking– Alignment
• Involvement in commissioning activity:– Interferometer pre-alignment and automatic alignment– Injection system– Detection system– Diffused light– Thermal effects
• Reference within the collaboration for support in optics for Virgo. R&D activities, e.g. “High power input optical components for Advanced Virgo”.
• Main group involved in the Advanced Virgo INJ Subsystem
Electronic Group: Main Tasks
• Electronics Maintenance/Upgrade- Suspension electronics production, assembly and installation- Suspension electronics documentation, maintenance and upgrade- Injection System electronics maintenance support
• Commissioning support- Injection System electronics characterization and troubleshooting- Environmental Monitoring characterization- Specific devices electronics modification
•Advanced Virgo -Development of the Electronic needed for the INJ Subsystem-Electronic Standardisation
Operations group: Main Tasks• Automation of ITF procedures
– Coordination, maintenance, upgrades• Detector Monitoring
– Coordination, maintenance, requirement definitions, testing• Training• Operation of Clean Rooms
– Management and maintenance • Commissioning support
– Mirror Suspension Control, – Alignment, – Noise hunting
• Partecipation to the SAT AdV Subsystem – In vacuum cabling– Superattenuator components assembly
EGO: Carries out research in the field of gravitation
of common interest of the MembersPromotes contacts among scientists and engineers, dissemination and training for young researchersPromotes co-operation on experimental and theoretical gravitational waves researchin Europe
EGO Aims on a larger horizon
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Organization of II ASPERA Technology Forum20-21 October 2011, focus on “Optics and Laser”
Addressed both to the GW experiments and to the “traditional” telescopes (CTA, Magic, ….)
Member of IDPASC, International Doctorate Network in Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology, since 2011
Organization of ISAPP 2010, International School on Astro-Particle Physics: ”Early Universe & GWs”
EU Researchers’ night partnership with INFN-LNF
EGO Recent Actions
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Established in 2004, the VIRGO EGO Scientific Forum is composed of 47 research groups active in the European scientific community.
EGO & Training
A total of 18 fellowships with a two-year duration have been funded in Italy (7), Spain (3), France (2), Germany (2), Greece (1), Hungary (1), Poland (1) and UK (1).
A yearly school to introduce Physics students to gravitational waves is organized since 2006. In addition, VESF launched a complementary yearly school on GW Data Analysis in 2010. More than 150 graduating students were introduced to GW and to the techniques used to detect them.
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Coordination of EU projects: 2004/2008 ILIAS (Integrated Large Infrastructures for
AstroParticles Science) project, coordinator of the networking activity: GW Antenna
2008/2011 Einstein Telescope• coordination and management of the project• support to the ET science team• interface with the EC• reporting activity
2011/2015 ELiTES project• coordination and management
EGO & EU
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
EGO MTP 2012/2016
The main activities foreseen in the EGO Medium Term Plan
Construction of the Advanced VIRGO detector, 2011/2014. Commissioning of AdV & early science run, 2015. From 2016, AdV science run.
R&D and subsequent implementation necessary for a significant sensitivity increase of Advanced VIRGO beyond the design sensitivity, 2013/2016 Einstein Telescope in the framework of a European collaboration, to produce a Conceptual Design Report, and potentially continue with the Technical Design Report.
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Present of GW research in Europeo There is a scientific caseo There are scientific and technological competencies, developed
locally in Laboratories o There are research infrastructures, thanks to the vision of National
Agencieso There are industries which provided the high-tech components,
acquiring know-how to be spent on the marketo There are first class World-wide technology transfers and/or spin-
off from EGO/VIRGO and GEO600: (a) mechanics (IT), (b) lasers (DE), (c) mirrors (FR & DE)
o The two EU interferometers have done a common science run during summer 2011
o The National scientific communities have demonstrated to be able to cooperate on a common project (the Einstein Telescope)
o There is a well consolidated management (EU grants, EU projects, science and technology workshops, R&D, training)
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
EGO & GEO600A multi-sited Research Infrastructure Lead 3rd Generation InterferometersLocal & GlobalThe virtuous quadrilateral:
ResearchTechnology Collaboration
Education
An EUROPEAN STRATEGY for GW?
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Three Steps:Active participation in EU GW projectsIncrease the participation of the National
GW communities in Europe to EGODevelop the dialogue with the GW
communities in other regions of the World
EUROPEAN STRATEGY for EGO
EGO –ICRR Meeting 4/5 October 2011
Summary
• An efficient, responsive and light structure to support Virgo and promote European collaboration under supervision by national institutions
• EGO existence relies on Virgo/AdV success
• The future of GW in Europe depends upon a stronger collaboration between EU countries. EGO may prefigure the required infrastructure.
Advanced VIRGO