(The Virgo Collaboration/CCO 1.0 https://bit.ly/43k8iHg)
The Virgo laser interferometer was scheduled to restart after a long scheduled maintenance and upgrade.
However, the instrument that was involved in the discovery of gravitational waves with the LIGO observatory, does not seem to be able to start working for several more months.
The reason for the delay was a malfunction in the system of suspensions of two mirrors, which led to a drop in the sensitivity of the gravitational wave detector.
Each of the 40-kilogram interferometer mirrors is suspended on thin fiberglass threads 0.4mm thick, which serve to dampen vibrations.
In November last year, one of them was damaged, which caused the mirror to move and loosen one of the magnets designed to stabilize the mirror.
The vibrations that occur in the magnet are now transferred to the mirror, increasing the noise and reducing the sensitivity of the device.
In addition, the second mirror, which had a similar problem in 2017, apparently received a small internal crack.
In this state, Virgo's sensitivity is about half what it was before maintenance began.
So in the next few months, scientists plan to open the detector's vacuum chamber and replace the faulty magnet and second mirror.
This work is planned to be completed by July, after which it will be necessary to re-configure the instrument. If all goes well, Virgo will be ready for launch in the fall.
Sources:
- Science: https://www.science.org/content/article/damage-delays-restart-italy-s-giant-gravitational-wave-detector
- Interesting Engineering: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/array-scanning-for-rare-gravitational-wave-sources
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