The Big Bang Observer (BBO) is a proposed successor to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) by the European Space Agency. The primary scientific goal is the observation of gravitational waves from the time shortly after the Big Bang, but it would also be able to detect younger sources of gravitational radiation, like binary inspirals. BBO would likely be sensitive to all LIGO and LISA sources, and others. Its extreme sensitivity would come from the higher-power lasers, and correlation of signals from several different interferometers that would be placed around the Sun.
The first phase resembles LISA, consisting of three spacecraft flown in a triangular pattern. The second phase adds three more triangles (twelve spacecraft total), spaced 120° apart in solar orbit, with one position having two overlapping triangles in a hexagram formation.
The individual satellites would differ from those in LISA by having far more powerful lasers. In addition each triangle will be much smaller than the triangles in LISA's pattern, about 50,000 km instead of 1 to 5 million km. Because of this smaller size, the test masses will experience smaller tidal deviations, and thus can be locked on a particular fringe of the interferometer — much as in LIGO. By contrast, LISA's test masses will fly in an essentially free orbit, with the spacecraft flying around them, and interferometer fringes will simply be counted, in a technique called "time-delay interferometry".
The BBO instruments present massive technological challenges. Funding has not been allocated for development, and even if selected for development, optimistic estimates place the instrument's launch date many decades away.
See also
Cosmic gravitational wave background
Gravitational wave
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
LISA Pathfinder
Further reading
Crowder, Jeff; Cronish, Neil J. (October 2005). "Beyond LISA: Exploring Future Gravitational Wave Missions". Physical Review D. 72 (8): 083005. arXiv:gr-qc/0506015. Bibcode:2005PhRvD..72h3005C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.72.083005.
Gravitational Wave Missions from LISA to Big Bang Observer, WM Folkner, JPL - 2005
The Big Bang Observer, Gregory Harry (MIT), LIGO-G0900426
vte
Gravitational-wave astronomy
Gravitational wave Gravitational-wave observatory
Detectors
Resonant mass
antennas
Active
NAUTILUS (IGEC) AURIGA (IGEC) MiniGRAIL Mario Schenberg
Past
EXPLORER (IGEC) ALLEGRO (IGEC) NIOBE (IGEC) Stanford gravitational wave detector ALTAIR GEOGRAV AGATA Weber bar
Proposed
Past proposals
GRAIL (downsized to MiniGRAIL) TIGA SFERA Graviton (downsized to Mario Schenberg)
Ground-based
Interferometers
Active
AIGO (ACIGA) CLIO Fermilab holometer GEO600 Advanced LIGO (LIGO Scientific Collaboration) KAGRA Advanced Virgo (European Gravitational Observatory)
Past
TAMA 300 TAMA 20, later known as LISM TENKO-100 Caltech 40m interferometer
Planned
INDIGO (LIGO-India)
Proposed
Cosmic Explorer Einstein Telescope
Past proposals
AIGO (LIGO-Australia)
Space-based
interferometers
Planned
LISA
Proposed
Big Bang Observer DECIGO TianQin
Pulsar timing arrays
EPTA IPTA NANOGrav PPTA
Data analysis
Einstein@Home PyCBC Zooniverse: Gravity Spy
Observations
Events
List of observations First observation (GW150914) GW151012 GW151226 GW170104 GW170608 GW170729 GW170809 GW170814 GW170817 (first neutron star merger) GW170818 GW170823 GW190412 GW190521 (first-ever light from bh-bh merger) GW190814 (first-ever "mass gap" collision)
Methods
Direct detection
Laser interferometers Resonant mass detectors Proposed: Atom interferometers Indirect detection
B-modes of CMB Pulsar timing array Binary pulsar
Theory
General relativity Tests of general relativity Metric theories Graviton
Effects / properties
Polarization Spin-flip Redshift Travel with speed of light h strain Chirp signal (chirp mass) Carried energy
Types / sources
Stochastic
Cosmic inflation-quantum fluctuation Phase transition Binary inspiral
Supermassive black holes Stellar black holes Neutron stars EMRI Continuous
Rotating neutron star Burst
Supernova or from unknown sources Hypothesis
Colliding cosmic string and other unknown sources
Hellenica World - Scientific Library
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