The LISA Pathfinder Mission

[摘要] LISA Pathfinder (LPF), the second of the European Space Agency's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology (SMART), is a dedicated technology validation mission for future spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, such as the proposed eLISA mission. LISA Pathfinder, and its scientific payload - the LISA Technology Package - will test, in flight, the critical technologies required for low frequency gravitational wave detection: it will put two test masses in a near-perfect gravitational free-fall and control and measure their motion with unprecedented accuracy. This is achieved through technology comprising inertial sensors, high precision laser metrology, drag-free control and an ultra-precise micro-Newton propulsion system. LISA Pathfinder is due to be launched in mid-2015, with first results on the performance of the system being available 6 months thereafter. The paper introduces the LISA Pathfinder mission, followed by an explanation of the physical principles of measurement concept and associated hardware. We then provide a detailed discussion of the LISA Technology Package, including both the inertial sensor and interferometric readout. As we approach the launch of the LISA Pathfinder, the focus of the development is shifting towards the science operations and data analysis - this is described in the final section of the paper.

[发布机构] European Space Astronomy Centre, European Space Agency, Villanueva-de-la-Cañada, Madrid; 28692, Spain^1;Albert-Einstein-Institut, Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Universität Hannover, Hannover; 30167, Germany^2;APC UMR7164, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France^3;Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, Trento; 38123, Italy^4;Airbus Defence and Space, Claude-Dornier-Strasse, Immenstaad; 88090, Germany^5;European Space Technology Centre, European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk; 2200 AG, Netherlands^6;Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Application / INFN, Povo, Trento; 38123, Italy^7;Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom^8;Airbus Defence and Space, Gunnels Wood Road, Hertfordshire, Stevenage; SG1 2AS, United Kingdom; (10) Institut für Geophysik, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich; CH-8092, Switzerland; (11) Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus UAB, Facultat de Ciències, Bellaterra; 08193, Spain; (12) Istituto di Fisica, Universita Degli Studi di Urbino, INFN Urbino (PU), Italy; (13) European Space Operations Centre, European Space Agency, Darmstadt; 64293, Germany; (14) Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, United Kingdom; (15) Physik Institut, Universitat Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zürich; CH-8057, Switzerland; (16) Institute for Gravitational Research, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow; G12 8QQ, United Kingdom; (17) Department d'Enginyeria Electrònica, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona; 08034, Spain; (18) Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), C/ Gran Capità 2-4, Barcelona; 08034, Spain; (19) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt; MD; 20771, United States; (20) CGS S.p.A, Compagnia Generale per Lo Spazio, Via Gallarate, 150, Milan; 20151, Italy^9

[关键词] Advanced researches;Critical technologies;European Space Agency;Gravitational wave detectors;Gravitational-wave detection;Lisa technology packages;Measurement concepts;Technology validations