GRADUATION THESES AVAILABLE ON GRAVITATIONAL WAVES (VIRGO/LISA)

Gravitational Waves (GW) represent one of the most fascinating challenges for theoretical and experimental physics research. The research on GW, involves all fields of modern physics, from astrophysics to quantum optics, from cosmology to particle physics.
Many detectors of gravitational waves are spread all around the World; in particular, one of the most sensitive ground-based interferometric GW detectors, VIRGO, is in Italy, near Pisa and it is jointly taking data with the two LIGO interferometric detectors in the USA. Moreover the LISA project – a joint ESA/ASI-NASA project – envisages in the next decade a space-based interferometric detector.
The VIRGO Lab (-2Ma02) and the LISA group in Napoli, offers to students the possibility to actively collaborate with the international scientific community with their graduation thesis, both experimental or theoretical.

Available experimental graduation theses arguments:

1. Development of innovative fibre-optic optical sensors and electrostatic actuators, suitable for cryogenic temperatures and high vacuum, fr next generation GW interferometric detectors.
2. Analysis of non linear effects caused by high power lasers in magneto-optic birefrangent crystals in the injection system of last generation GW interferometiric detectors.
3. Study of the effect of the non-Gaussian component of the injection laser beam on the sensitivity of the AdVirgo 2nd generation interferometric GW detector, and their compensation.

Data analysis:

1. Development of algorithms for the extraction of GW signal of astrophysical sources, from the signal of ground or space-based interferometric detectors.
2. Study of the effect of environmental noises on the signal of the Virgo interferometric GW detector and techniques for their reduction.
3. Research of the stochastic background of GW through the joint analysis of the signals of the VIRGO and LIGO interferometric GW detectors.
   
   Theorectical Physics graduation theses arguments:

Study of GW waveforms in extended gravitation theories
Study of GW from the coalescence of compact binary stars
Search for the correlation between GW emission and gamma ray bursts
(theory/phenomenology/data analysis)