Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves are disturbances in the space-time metric and are caused by the motion of mass in the universe. They are a consequence of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, with their existence demonstrated through timing observations of double neutron star binaries, resulting in the award of the 1993 Nobel Prize. They were directly detected by the LIGO/VIRGO collaboration, with the 2017 Nobel Prize awarded for this watershed moment in the history of Physics. The IPTA joins a worldwide team of researchers aiming to characterize the GW universe across the GW spectrum and in coordination with electromagnetic observations with telescopes world-wide.

Ground-based experiments (operational)

CLIO · LIGO · GEO 600 · Virgo · TAMA 300 · MiniGrail · Mario Schenberg

Ground-based experiments (proposed)

AIGO · LCGT · ET · INDIGO · AGIS · TOBA

Space-based experiments (planned and proposed)

LISA · DECIGO · BBO

Pulsar Timing Arrays

EPTA · NANOGrav · PPTA · INPTA