GWIC - The Gravitational Wave International Committee

GWIC Roadmap

This is an exciting time for the gravitational wave community:

LIGO and Virgo have completed their initial Science Runs and have begun the first step leading to the second generation detectors Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo
A proposal for LCGT is being considered in Japan, while in Australia, AIGO is under discussion
A successful proposal to the European Commission's Framework 7 programme has been funded to begin a design study for a third generation gravitational wave detector (dubbed the "Einstein Telescope") in Europe
LISA has been given a strong endorsement in a study by U.S. National Academy of Science of NASA's Beyond Einstein Program, but funding remains uncertain
Pulsar timing has matured to the point where a detection of gravitational waves in the nanoHertz regime appears likely in the next decade

At the same time, these facilities and missions have become more sophisticated and complex and thus, more expensive. Planning for such efforts requires more time and greater international cooperation, and the scientific case must be made strongly.

At its 2007 meeting, GWIC appointed a small subcommittee (chaired by Jay Marx) to initiate discussions in the community and to prepare a roadmap for the future of gravitational wave detection and astrophysics. The goal is to lay out a path for the next thirty years, beginning with the most important scientific objectives, identifying the technology challenges which must be met, and showing the different efforts world-wide support these objectives. The goal is to have a vision for the future that the gravitational wave community can support and advocate, and which can be used to inform and educate fellow scientists and funding agencies throughout the world.

Request for community input

Letter from Jay Marx to gravitational wave community seeking input to GWIC roadmap process

Dear Colleague,

As you may know, the Gravitational Wave International Committee chaired by Jim Hough has assembled a committee to develop a 30-year roadmap for our field. In my role as chair of the Roadmap Committee I am soliciting your input to the Roadmap process. As background, you will find below an updated description of the Roadmap Charge that Jim sent to the GW community a few months ago as part of a letter describing the Roadmap process.

The roadmap committee welcomes your input on all topics that are relevant to our work. Input from the community is vital for this process--the role of the Roadmap is to synthesize the community's views and present them in a way that maximizes their impact on, not to dictate the future.

Input on any aspect of GW instrumentation or science is welcome, and your input need not be polished--getting your opinions in a timely way is more important than elegant writing. We would also like to pose a few questions to you to suggest some topics for which we would especially like your views:

What are your views about where the field will and should go in the next several decades and why?
What are the key medium- to long-term R&D activities that are needed to enable the field to develop to its fullest?
What are your views about how the field will fit into the broader scientific perspective--e.g. how it interacts with and influences other fields of science, and is influenced by other fields?
Do you have any advice about how to enhance the likelihood of the Roadmap having a big influence on the future development of the field and the support or appreciation for the field by other scientists from other fields and by funding agencies (e.g. strategy, politics, etc.)?

In order for the whole Roadmap committee to receive and consider your input, we suggest that you communicate with us by e-mail. An e-mail address ( ) has been set up for you to use so that your input will be received by all committee members. Please be sure to use as a subject heading for your e-mail the phrase: Input from community .

We appreciate your help with this important community activity.

Yours sincerely,

Jay Marx, for the GWIC Roadmap Committee

GWIC subcommittee---Global Roadmap for the field of gravitational wave science

When:

Membership:

Chair

Jay Marx (marx_j-at-ligo.caltech.edu)

Members

Karsten Danzmann (karsten.danzmann-at-aei.mpg.de)
Sterl Phinney (esp-at-tapir.caltech.edu)
Kazuaki Kuroda (kuroda-at-icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
David McClelland (David.McClelland-at-anu.edu.au)
Benoit Mours (mours-at-lapp.in2p3.fr)
Sheila Rowan (s.rowan-at-physics.gla.ac.uk)
Flavio Vetrano (flavio.vetrano-at-uniurb.it)
Stefano Vitale (stefano.vitale-at-unitn.it)
Stan Whitcomb (stan-at-ligo.caltech.edu)
Cliff Will (cmw-at-wuphys.wustl.edu)

Charge:

Develop roadmap for field (ground and space based) with 30-year horizon. Take account known national and regional planned projects. Identify relevant science opportunities and the facilities needed to address them. A perspective to optimize the global science in the field should form the basis for this roadmap.

The report should be brief and to the point. It should be written assuming that the readership is scientists from outside of the field. The report should be of sufficient quality to be distributed to national and international roadmap and priority setting groups.

Topics:

The long-term scientific value of the field
Existing and planned facilities in the perspective of a global network
Anticipated scientific opportunities utilizing gravitational waves
Theory and numerical relativity: anticipated developments and impact on the science capabilities of the field
Impact of technologies
Global goals for the field: 10, 20, 30 year horizon
Facilities and capabilities needed to reach these goals
Roadmap to these goals (what should happen when, key decision points)
Discussion of strategies, politics, etc.