The seismic sensors group (led by Prof. Tomasz Bulik) activities revolve mainly around the gravitational waves theme of the Astrocent project. A detection of gravitational waves in 2015 was a great achievement and led to the opening of gravitational wave astronomy. The advancement of this new branch of particle astrophysics hinges on development and improvement of detectors. The quality of the data is related to monitoring and compensating for a variety of sources of noise. The seismic noise, apart from shaking the test masses in the interferometers, is also a source of the Newtonian – or gravity gradient – noise. This type of noise is due to fluctuations of the local gravity by seismic or sound waves in the medium surrounding the detector.
Group works with the VIRGO Collaboration, and is a part of the emerging Einstein Telescope (ET) project. Scientists work on designing and optimizing the performance of standalone seismic sensors for monitoring the future ET sites. They are also involved in work related to monitoring the infra sound field in the vicinity of gravitational wave detectors.
The studies of a seismic field for the ET involve designing and setting up underground as well as on-the-ground sensor networks. Currently researchers work on ultrasensitive sensors with the aim to build the hardware that is extremely reliable at the same time. This means that they work on projects and applications involving mechanical and electrical engineering, geophysics as well as data analysis and data mining.
On the 22nd of February, after the public talks by the two Nobel Laureates in Physics organized by AstroCeNT, a reception for the distinguished guests was held at the Embassy of Canada to Poland in Warsaw. The event was dedicated to the cooperation of our countries in the field of research on dark matter (the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration), gravitational waves (LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA collaboration) and neutrinos (Hyper-Kamiokande) and was attended by Polish and foreign diplomats, representatives of Polish educational and scientific institutions, Polish scientists and guests from abroad.
During the reception at the Canadian Embassy the importance of international cooperation in promoting scientific research and understanding of the Universe was emphasized. By bringing together experts from different countries and fields, the event provided a space to exchange ideas and forge new partnerships.a
On the 22-23th of February 2023 AstroCeNT team had the honor of hosting two Nobel laureates in physics, Prof. Arthur B. McDonald (Canada) and Prof. Barry C. Barish (USA). The reason for their visit to Poland was the World Copernican Congress, which officially opened in Toruń on the 19th of February 2023, on the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, an icon of Polish and world science.
On the occasion of the Nobel laureates’ visit, a large-scale event was organized by AstroCeNT. The public talks entitled “Exploring the Hidden Universe” by Prof. McDonald and Prof. Barish were a resounding success and attracted more than 250 listeners.
