Summary: Class.Quantum Grav. 10 (1993) S1854185. Printed in the
UK The Laser InterferometerGravitationalWave Observatory Stanley
E Whitcomb California Institute of Ethnology, 102-33,Pasadena,
CA, 91125,USA Abstract The LIGO (Laser Interferometer
Gravilalional-wave Observatory) project+ is designed to open a
new field of science by detecting and studying the gravitational
waves from astrophysical sources, including neutron stars, black
holes,and posribly, supernovae and the big bang. LIGO will
consist of two scientific facilities, each incoprating an
I.-shaped vacuum system with 4-kilometen a m to house sensitive
interferometers. A detector system consists of three
interferometers, two at one site and one at the other. Each
interferometer measures the motion of a set of test mmes which
are suspended from seismically isolated suppons and free to move
in response to gravitational waves. Correlations among the three
interferometers will be used to eliminate local noise. LIGO is
designed to support a sequence of d