Proposed Projects

• Gravitational Wave Detection with the Einstein Telescope
  Mentor: Aaron Jones
• Are you excited by cutting-edge physics and eager to contribute to the future of astronomy? Our research group at UCLouvain is seeking a highly motivated summer student to join our efforts to advance gravitational wave detection with the Einstein Telescope. The Einstein Telescope is a next-generation gravitational wave observatory that will explore some of the most profound questions in modern physics, including dark matter candidates and the neutron star equation of state. Our work focuses on improving sensitivity by employing higher-order optical modes and improving transverse mode control. Your role will be to:
  • Assist in experiments at UCLouvain, set up laser experiments and use optical cavities.
  • Work with a Liquid-Crystal-Display (LCD) system to alter laser patterns, learn about mode control techniques, and contribute to the reduction of quantum noise.
  • Gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge optical and quantum technologies in the context of gravitational wave research.

  The ideal candidate has:

  • Background in physics, engineering, or related fields
  • Interest in optics, laser physics, or quantum mechanics.
  • Strong analytical skills and enthusiasm for experimental work.

  What you’ll gain from the experience:

  • Practical research experience with state-of-the-art technology in gravitational wave detection.
  • Opportunities to work alongside leading scientists and gain insights into large-scale international collaborations.
  • A deeper understanding of quantum optics, interferometry, and the workings of next-generation gravitational wave observatories.

• Searching for long-lived binary inspirals in future gravitational-wave detectors
  Mentor: Andrew MillerCurrent gravitational-wave interferometers have detected binary neutron star and binary black hole systems that last less than O(100 s) and O(1 s), respectively. However, future detectors, such as Einstein Explorer and LISA, will be sensitive to binary systems that spend a lot more time in the detector frequency band. Thus, current techniques based on matched filtering, the ideal signal processing technique that correlates a template signal with the data, will need to be revised to account for a continuously changing noise distribution, gaps in the data, and noise disturbances. We have developed a method that is robust towards these three problems, but we have not yet applied it to long-lived sources in future detectors. This project will involve adapting this method to insprialing binary systems: e.g. neutron star inspirals in Einstein Telescope, and extreme mass ratio inspirals/binary black hole inspirals in LISA, quantifying its sensitivity towards these sources, and determining the degree to which we can localize these sources in the sky.