 | |
| Alternative names | KAGRA  |
|---|---|
| Part of | Kamioka Observatory |
| Location(s) | Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan |
| Coordinates | 36°24′43″N 137°18′21″E / 36.4119°N 137.3058°E |
| Organization | Institute for Cosmic Ray Research |
| Altitude | 414 m (1,358 ft) |
| Telescope style | gravitational-wave observatory observatory |
| Length | 3,000 m (9,842 ft 6 in) |
| Website | gwcenter |
  Location of KAGRA | |
 Related media on Commons | |
The Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA) is a large interferometer designed to detect gravitational waves predicted by the general theory of relativity. KAGRA is a Michelson interferometer that is isolated from external disturbances: its mirrors and instrumentation are suspended and its laser beam operates in a vacuum. The instrument's two arms are three kilometres long and located underground at the Kamioka Observatory which is near the Kamioka section of the city of Hida in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
KAGRA is a project of the gravitational wave studies group at the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) of the University of Tokyo.[1] It became operational on 25 February 2020, when it began data collection.[2][3] It is Asia's first gravitational wave observatory, the first in the world built underground, and the first whose detector uses cryogenic mirrors. The cryogenic mirrors reduce the thermal noise and the underground location acts to significantly reduce the noise from seismic waves on the Earth's surface which dominates the noise of LIGO and VIRGO at low frequencies. It is expected to have an operational sensitivity equal to, or greater than, LIGO and Virgo. [1][4]
The Kamioka Observatory specializes in the detection of neutrinos, dark matter and gravitational waves, and has other important instruments, including Super Kamiokande, XMASS and NEWAGE. KAGRA is a laser interferometric gravitational wave detector. It is near the neutrino physics experiments.
KAGRA detector participated in the O3 observing run of LIGO and Virgo in 2019 and 2020.[5][6] and in O4a for a month before going back to commissioning.[7] KAGRA is planned to join the second phase of the O4 run after recovering from damage caused by the 2024 Noto earthquake.
- ^ a b Mosher, Dave; McFall-Johnsen, Morgan (5 October 2019). "A powerful experiment that cracked a 100-year-old mystery posed by Einstein just got a huge upgrade". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
GWCenterwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
NAOwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ KAGRA Collaboration (January 2019). "KAGRA: 2.5 generation interferometric gravitational wave detector". Nature Astronomy. 3: 35-40. arXiv:1811.08079. doi:10.1038/s41550-018-0658-y.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
observationrun1endwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "LIGO, VIRGO AND KAGRA OBSERVING RUN PLANS". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Gravitational-wave detectors start next observing run to explore the secrets of the Universe". Max Planck Society. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.