India’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) facility was officially inaugurated on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in India’s pursuit of advanced gravitational wave research.

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space-time, caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the universe. It is a prediction of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, proposed in 1915, and was first directly detected in 2015 by LIGO.

Dr AK Mohanty, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), led the inauguration of the testing and training center of the Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) in Indore.

This facility will serve as an assembly and preparation laboratory for LIGO-India, supporting the construction of detector subsystems while the main observation site is under development in Hingoli, Maharashtra.

This will also facilitate pumping testing of LIGO vacuum chamber prototypes that have been manufactured locally, a crucial step in ensuring the functionality of the observatory’s sensitive equipment.

Gravitational waves carry energy away from their source in the form of waves, traveling at the speed of light. They stretch and compress space-time during their passage.

LIGO-India is expected to be the first scientific megaproject in the field of gravitational waves established on Indian soil, enabling local researchers and students to contribute significantly to gravitational wave astronomy.

The project shows India’s commitment to becoming a key player in global scientific efforts.

As part of a global network that includes existing LIGO facilities in the United States and other international observatories like Virgo in Italy and KAGRA in Japan, LIGO-India aims to improve our understanding of cosmic events through wave detection gravitational – ripples in space-time caused by cataclysmic events such as black hole mergers.

The establishment of this facility not only represents a quantum leap in scientific capabilities, but also promises to generate employment opportunities locally and spark interest in astronomy among students and researchers in India.