January 2011
UF Physics Scientist's work featured in "Physics Today"
The work of UF Scientist Sergey Klimenko is featured in the December 2010 issue of "Physics Today", page 31.
The title of the article is "LIGO relocation will boost gravitational wave science". It discusses a
possibility of moving one of the three upgraded gravitational wave detectors of the LIGO experiment to
Australia (with the other two located in the US). Three LIGO detectors are operated in conjunction with the
Virgo detector in Pisa, Italy. Klimenko leads a group from UF and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics,
Italy who have demonstrated by simulation that moving one of the LIGO detectors to Australia will
provide better coverage for the experimental searches of gravitational-waves sources in the Universe.
Observation of such sources will be a major discovery in physics. Klimenko and others have demonstrated
that the error in pinpointing the position of a gravitational-wave source would take a dive from 10-20
degrees with the third detector from the Advanced LIGO in Hanford, Washington down to 1-2 degrees
if that detector goes to Gingin, Australia. This idea has got a conditional stamp of approval
from the US National Science Board. In 2008 the NSF committed $205 million to the LIGO upgrade.
The proposal is being reviewed in Australia. UF is one of the largest University groups in
LIGO and the current Spokesperson of the 830-people strong International LIGO Science
Collaboration is UF Professor David Reitze.
