The discovery of gravitational waves: a gentle fight against noise

[摘要] The recent direct observation of gravitational waves coming from collisions between black holes is the fulfillment of a dream started more than sixty years ago with the pioneering experiments of J. Weber. This has been possible by reaching with interferometric detectors an unprecedented sensitivity, which requires the reduction of several technical and fundamental noise sources, thermal and quantum in particular. I discuss some of these, with some emphasis on quantum noise. I also briefly discuss the first detection results and their impact on fundamental physics, commenting about future perspectives and challenges.

[发布机构] INFN Sez., Pisa - Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, Pisa; 56127, Italy^1

[效力级别] 力学 [学科分类] 力学，机械学

[关键词] Black holes;Direct observations;Fundamental noise;Fundamental physics;Future perspectives;Interferometric detectors