We hope you enjoyed the 2020 LISA Symposium!
The LISA Symposium last week was the most highly attended to date! We thank the organizers for their hard work and all the speakers for their contributions. Talks from the conference continue to be available on the meeting website for a limited time. A playlist of pre-recorded presentations is currently available on YouTube.
We hope you enjoyed the meeting and we look forward to joining you in two years for the next LISA Symposium!
2020 LISA Symposium
Agenda Now Available
The agenda for the LISA XIII Symposium including the list of speakers, has been posted on the conference website (Link). A playlist of the pre-recorded presentations is now available on YouTube, for participants to view in advance of the live sessions.
2020 LISA Symposium
Abstract Submission Deadline Extended
The deadline for abstract submissions for the LISA XIII Symposium has been extended to 20 July at 12:00 UTC. The abstract submission portal will remain open after that time, but will close permanently on 10 August at 12:00 UTC. However, any abstracts received between 20 July and 10 August will only be eligible for a pre-recorded contributed presentation.
2020 LISA Symposium Registration and Abstract Submission
Registration and abstract submission for contributed talks for the 13th International LISA Symposium are now open. This virtual meeting will be held September 1-3, 2020 and will be open to all and free of charge. The symposium will consist of invited live talks, contributed live talks, and live discussion sessions, with many additional invited and contributed talks prerecorded.
The deadline for abstract submission is 17 July, 23:59 UTC.
2020 LISA Symposium rescheduled as virtual meeting
The 13th International LISA Symposium will take place everywhere online on three afternoons (UTC), on September 1-3, 2020. The symposium will focus on the status of the LISA mission; on the latest developments in its design and technology; on the science (astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics) of LISA’s millihertz gravitational-wave sources; and on the ensuing challenges in gravitational theory and analysis.
The live program of invited and contributed presentations, panels, and townhalls will be supplemented by prerecorded talks and tutorials, which will be available on the conference website in advance of the symposium. A call for contributed presentations will go out in early June, with a deadline in mid-July; and the final program should be circulated by early August. More information will appear soon at the LISA symposium website,.
2020 LISA Symposium Cancelled
Due to the ongoing global emergency, organizers for the LISA Symposium originally planned for this July in Glasgow have decided that it can no longer take place. Discussions are in progress to consider an alternative meeting format this year and a timeline for a rescheduled Symposium. Updates will be posted as decisions are announced.
New round of LISA Preparatory Science posted in ROSES-2020
NASA has posted a new opportunity to ROSES-2020 calling for proposals to the LISA Preparatory Science Program. This program provides support for U.S. investigators to conduct activities that contribute to furthering the eventual science yield of LISA, inluding waveform simulations, analysis techniques, cross-disciplinary studies, preparatory astrophysical observations, and more. Mandatory NOIs are due by 15 September 2020, and the proposal due date is 15 December 2020. Read the announcement.
NASA Awards LISA telescope contract to New York firm
The development of the LISA telescopes is one of NASA’s primary hardware contributions to the ESA-led mission. On March 16, 2020, NASA announced that the engineering unit development contract for the planned telescope design has been awarded to L3Harris Corporation, located in Rochester, NY. The development and testing of an engineering unit is a major step in producing space-ready hardware for the mission. Read the announcement
LISA Symposium — Save the Date!
19-24 July 2020
Glasgow, Scotland
It is five months to the start of this year’s LISA Symposium! The website and the registration form details are not yet finalized, but they will be available very soon with registration anticipated to open at the end of this month and abstract submission opening during March.
The Symposium will be formally opened at a complimentary welcome event in the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum on Sunday 19th July. The Symposium will then run from 9am on Monday 20th till 5pm on Friday 24th July in the Bute Hall with the conference dinner taking place mid-week at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Along side these formal conference activities and lots of informal opportunities to meet with colleagues there will be a number of social events that may be reserved through the registration page.
For inquiries, you may contact lisasymposium2020@glasgow.ac.uk.
LISA Interest Survey
Due: January 10, 2020
Attention US researchers! The NASA LISA Study Team is requesting your input regarding the future use of data from the LISA gravitational wave observatory. Even if your research area is not directly related to gravitational waves, we welcome your feedback to gauge the needs and interests of the broad US astronomical research community. This 16 question survey should take 5 or 10 minutes to complete. We welcome your input by Friday, January 10, 2020.
LISA Passes Review Milestone
LISA has successfully completed the Mission Consolidation Review (MCR), a review conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) to assess progress at the middle of Phase A. The review team examined the current state of the mission design, payload developments, and programatic planning at this early stage in the mission formulation process. NASA supported ESA in this review by providing inputs on NASA technology development activities as well as subject matter experts who assisted in reviewing materials. The LISA team will now focus on the activities for the remainder of mission Phase A.
NASA’s LISA Study Team welcomes new membership
The NASA LISA Study Team welcomes seven new members to it’s ranks! For information about the current NLST membership and alumni who have stepped down, please consult the Study Team Roster.
Call for Nominations to Augment the NASA LISA Study Team
Due: October 11, 2019
NASA welcomes nominations, including self-nominations, for new members of the NASA LISA Study Team (deadline: October 11, 2019). We particularly encourage people of diverse backgrounds, skills, career stages, and viewpoints to apply. See the full text of the call and application instructions for more information.
Newly discovered binary system will be a strong LISA source
Astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) have announced the discovery of ZTFJ1539+5027, a pair of white dwarfs that orbit one another roughly every seven minutes. This system will be a strong LISA source, detecable after roughly one week of observing and with a total signal-to-noise ratio of nearly 200 in a four-year LISA mission.
First Results from GRACE-FO’s Laser Interferometer
The first results from the Laser Ranging Instrument (LRI) on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On (GRACE-FO) mission were published in Physical Review Letters on July 19th, 2019. The GRACE-FO mission maps the Earth’s gravity field by precisely tracking the relative positions of a pair of spacecraft that orbit the Earth. The LRI makes these measurements using heterodyne laser interferometry, the same technique that will be used for LISA. These first results from LRI demonstrate nanometer-level precision over the 220km range between the GRACE-FO satellites.
Event Horizon Telescope makes first image of a black hole
The Event Horizon Telescope project, an international effort to link radio telescopes across Earth to build a planet-sized telescope with superb angular resolution has made the first image of a black hole. The image is of gas surrounding a black hole of nearly six billion solar masses in the galaxy M87. LISA will measure the mergers of massive black holes which are the ancestors of these supermassive black holes.
Ground-based gravitational wave observatories begin 3rd observing run
O3, the third observing run of the advanced ground-based gravitational wave detectors has begun after the LIGO and Virgo teams have spent over a year upgrading their instruments to improved sensitivities. O3 is expected to last for a full year with increased event rates. O3 will also feature low-latency, public alerts which will enable follow-up of gravitational wave events by a variety of astronomical facilities.
LISA Data Challenge
The first data set for the LISA Data Challenge has been released by the LISA Consortium. If you’d like to try your hand at extracting gravitational wave sources from simulated LISA data, you can download tools and data at the Data Challenge Website. The deadline for entries to this first challenge will be near the end of 2018.
LISA Symposium Program Posted
The scientific program for the 12th International LISA Symposium is now posted on the conference website . The meeting will feature talks on the LISA mission, enabling technologies, data analysis, astrophysics, and related topics. Over 200 researchers from around the world will attend the conference in Chicago July 8th-13th. Late registration will be available until the start of the conference.
LISA Symposium Conference Website
GRACE-FO Launches LISA Technology
The Gravity Recovery And Climate Explorer Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission launched from Vandenberg AFB on a mission to map the Earth’s gravitational field. While the primary spacecraft systems are a rebuild of the original GRACE mission, GRACE-FO carries the Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI) technology demonstration which will use laser interferometry to measure nanometer changes between the two GRACE-FO spacecraft flying roughly 300km apart from one another. The LRI was built by a US-German collaboration that includes many LISA veterans and takes advantage of technologies that were originally developed to support LISA. The advancement of these technologies for GRACE-FO now adds experience that can be applied to LISA.
LISA Symposium Registration Open
The LISA Symposium being held in Chicago, IL on July 8-13 is still accepting registrations. This is the 12th edition of the once-per-two-year meeting that covers all aspects of LISA including mission development, instrumentation, theory, analysis, and astrophysics. The Abstract deadline closed on May 9th, 2018.
12th International LISA Symposium Now Accepting Abstracts
Abstract submissions are open for the 12th International LISA Symposium, to be held 8-13 July 2018 in Chicago, IL. Submissions can be made at the abstract submission page.
The LISA Symposium is a wide-ranging conference that addresses the broad astrophysical scope of LISA science, mission, and technology development, as well as challenges and interesting questions facing the astrophysics and gravitational wave community.
If you still have not registered for the Symposium, visit the registration page.
We are looking forward to seeing you in Chicago this summer!
LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) ROSES Solicitation: Proposals Due June 14, 2018
NASA is pleased to announce the LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) solicitation, as part of ROSES2018 (element D.13). The LPS will support science data analysis and LISA-related astrophysics research of US-based scientists. As part of the international LISA Consortium, US investigators will conduct research projects aimed at augmenting and complementing the LISA Consortium Data Analysis Work Packages as well as NASA LISA Study Office science and data activities . Proposers for the LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) solicitation should consult the LPS FAQ that is available at the NSPIRES website.
We look forward to your ideas!
Please note: Notices of Intent are mandatory for LPS and were due March 19, 2018. All questions should be addressed to the HQ POC for LPS, POC Rita Sambruna, rita.m.sambruna@nasa.gov
Registration open for the 12th International LISA Symposium – July 8-13 2018
The 12th International LISA Symposium will be held in Chicago, IL on July 8-13. This biennial meeting covers the full range of LISA topics including astrophysics, data analysis, technology development, and mission development. This year’s Symposium is hosted by the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University, and co-sponsored by the American Astronomical Society. Registration and hotel reservations are open now and Abstract submission will open soon.
NOI for LISA Preparatory Science: full list of team members + deadline extended to 19 March 2018
Note to community: please make sure to visit the LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) FAQ (on the ROSES website), and -particularly- note the strong encouragment to include the full list of team members in the NOI.
This amendment delays due dates in anticipation of power loss to New England as a result of the upcoming storm. The mandatory NOI due date for ROSES-2018 D.13 LISA Preparatory Science has been changed to Monday March 19, 2018. The full proposal due date for D.13 LISA Preparatory Science remains June 14, 2018.
Questions concerning ROSES-2018 D.13 LISA Preparatory Science may be directed to POC: Rita Sambruna, rita.m.sambruna@nasa.gov
LPS FAQ
Proposers for the LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) solicitation should consult the LPS FAQ that is available at the ROSES website (element D.13)
All questions should be addressed to the HQ POC for LPS, POC: Rita Sambruna, rita.m.sambruna@nasa.gov
LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) ROSES Solicitation: Mandatory NOI Due March 15, 2018
NASA is pleased to announce the release in February 2018 of the LISA Preparatory Science (LPS) solicitation, as part of ROSES2018 (element D.13). The LPS will support science data analysis and LISA-related astrophysics research of US-based scientists. As part of the international LISA Consortium, US investigators will conduct research projects aimed at augmenting and complementing the LISA Consortium Data Analysis Work Packages as well as NASA LISA Study Office science and data activities .
Please note: Notices of Intent will be mandatory for LPS and are due March 15, 2018. Failure to submit an NOI may result in your proposal being returned without evaluation. We look forward to your ideas! POC: Rita Sambruna, rita.m.sambruna@nasa.gov
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