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arXiv · 1903.08924

LISA Pathfinder

Michele Armano·Heather Audley·Jonathon Baird·Pierre Binetruy·Michael Born·Daniele Bortoluzzi·Eleanora Castelli·Antonella Cavalleri·Andrea Cesarini·Mike Cruise·Karsten Danzmann·Marcus de Deus Silva·Ingo Diepholz·George Dixon·Rita Dolesi·Luigi Ferraioli·Valerio Ferroni·Ewan Fitzsimons·Mario Freschi·Luis Gesa·Ferran Gibert·Domenico Giardini·Roberta Giusteri·Catia Grimani·Jonathan Grzymisch·Ian Harrison·Gerhard Heinzel·Martin Hewitson·Daniel Hollington·David Hoyland·Mauro Hueller·Henri Inchauspe·Oliver Jennrich·Philippe Jetzer·Nikolaos Karnesis·Brigitte Kaune·Natalia Korsakova·Christian J Killow·Alberto Lobo·Ivan Lloro·Li Liu·Juan-Pedro Lopez-Zaragoza·Rolf Maarschalkerweerd·Davor Mance·Neda Meshksar·V Martın·L Martin-Polo·Joseph Martino·Fernando Martin-Porqueras·Ignacio Mateos·Paul McNamara·Jose Mendes·Luis Mendes·Miquel Nofrarias·Sarah Paczkowski·Michael Perreur-Lloyd·Antoine Petiteau·Paolo Pivato·Eric Plagnol·Jose Ramos-Castro·Jens Reiche·David Robertson·Francisco Rivas·Giuliana Russano·Jacob Slutsky·Carlos Sopuerta·Timothy Sumner·Daniel Texier·Ira Thorpe·Daniele Vetrugno·Stefano Vitale·Gudrun Wanner·Harry Ward·Peter Wass·William Weber·Lennart Wissel·Andreas Wittchen·Peter Zweifel
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Abstract

Since the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the observation of gravitational waves, it is fair to say that the epoch of gravitational wave astronomy (GWs) has begun. However, a number of interesting sources of GWs can only be observed from space. To demonstrate the feasibility of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a future gravitational wave observatory in space, the LISA Pathfinder satellite was launched on December, 3rd 2015. Measurements of the spurious forces accelerating an otherwise free-falling test mass, and detailed investigations of the individual subsystems needed to achieve the free-fall, have been conducted throughout the mission. This overview article starts with the purpose and aim of the mission, explains satellite hardware and mission operations and ends with a summary of selected important results and an outlook towards LISA. From the LISA Pathfinder experience, we can conclude that the proposed LISA mission is feasible.

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Michele Armano, Heather Audley, Jonathon Baird, Pierre Binetruy, Michael Born, Daniele Bortoluzzi, Eleanora Castelli, Antonella Cavalleri, Andrea Cesarini, Mike Cruise, Karsten Danzmann, Marcus de Deus Silva, Ingo Diepholz, George Dixon, Rita Dolesi, Luigi Ferraioli, Valerio Ferroni, Ewan Fitzsimons, Mario Freschi, Luis Gesa, Ferran Gibert, Domenico Giardini, Roberta Giusteri, Catia Grimani, Jonathan Grzymisch, Ian Harrison, Gerhard Heinzel, Martin Hewitson, Daniel Hollington, David Hoyland, Mauro Hueller, Henri Inchauspe, Oliver Jennrich, Philippe Jetzer, Nikolaos Karnesis, Brigitte Kaune, Natalia Korsakova, Christian J Killow, Alberto Lobo, Ivan Lloro, Li Liu, Juan-Pedro Lopez-Zaragoza, Rolf Maarschalkerweerd, Davor Mance, Neda Meshksar, V Martın, L Martin-Polo, Joseph Martino, Fernando Martin-Porqueras, Ignacio Mateos, Paul McNamara, Jose Mendes, Luis Mendes, Miquel Nofrarias, Sarah Paczkowski, Michael Perreur-Lloyd, Antoine Petiteau, Paolo Pivato, Eric Plagnol, Jose Ramos-Castro, Jens Reiche, David Robertson, Francisco Rivas, Giuliana Russano, Jacob Slutsky, Carlos Sopuerta, Timothy Sumner, Daniel Texier, Ira Thorpe, Daniele Vetrugno, Stefano Vitale, Gudrun Wanner, Harry Ward, Peter Wass, William Weber, Lennart Wissel, Andreas Wittchen, Peter Zweifel. 2019-03-21. LISA Pathfinder. https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.08924

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