Spheres - Omni-directional multi-mode gravitational-wave antennas for the next generation

TL;DR

This paper discusses the design and advantages of large spherical gravitational-wave antennas capable of full-sky coverage and enhanced sensitivity, suitable for detecting signals from neutron star mergers and stellar instabilities.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of multi-mode spherical antennas for gravitational wave detection, highlighting their full-sky coverage and potential for near quantum-limited sensitivity.

Findings

Spherical antennas can detect gravitational waves from neutron star mergers.

They offer full-sky coverage due to their quadrupole modes.

Numerical calculations show promising sensitivity for astrophysical sources.

Abstract

The construction of a massive (~ 40 ton) spherical antennas for gravitational wave astronomy has been proposed by a number of groups worldwide. Summed over all five quadrupole modes, the sphere has a direction-independent cross section, permitting full-sky coverage. Combined with its enhanced sensitivity due to its multi-nature and increased mass, sphereical detectors make ideal instruments for observational astronomy. Numerical calculations have shown that gravitational-wave signals from coalescing neutron star binaries and dynamic instabilities of rapidly rotating stars in the Virgo cluster can be resolved with a spherical antenna with a near quantum-limited sensitivity.