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Faculty of Sciences physicist to lead international quest for gravitational waves

Prof. Jo van den Brand and his team are to receive 2.9m euros to conduct research into gravitational waves from the cosmos.

Researcher Jo van den Brand (Faculty of Sciences and Nikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics) and his team will be participating in the international quest for gravitational waves from the cosmos. The FOM Institute for Fundamental Research on Matter has awarded the researches 2.9m euros for this purpose. The study is based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which predicts that accelerating objects cause vibrations in space-time. Van den Brand hopes to directly observe gravitational waves using laser interferometry by participating in current international projects such as Virgo, and the planned projects LISA and the Einstein Telescope.

The latter has a prominent place on the European roadmap for astroparticle physics. A design study for the telescope has received financial support from the EU. The Dutch programme contributes unique analytical and technical knowledge to the programme, which is essential for the success of this international experiment. "This FOM programme offers significant opportunities for precision measurements of the effects of strong and dynamic gravitational fields. Measurements like these will reveal any possible fault in the solid and successful construction of Einstein's General Relativity Theory and will show us the way to the real theory of gravitation", according to Van den Brand.