Forthcoming Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) meeting

25 Jul 2018 01:07 PM

The September meeting of the Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP) will take place in CS12/13, STFC, Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 1SZ on 12 September 2018. The Panel will be reviewing two project proposals.

Members of the science community should contact George Madden if they are likely to attend the open presentation.

The proposals being reviewed are as follows:

12 September 2018

10:15 – 11:15: Gaia CU9: facilitating UK exploitation of Gaia data

Gaia is the cornerstone ESA mission which is providing the first astrometric census of the sky. Three billion sources are being surveyed, allowing major advances in Galactic structure and evolution, stellar evolution, solar dynamics, exo-planetary systems, cosmology and fundamental physics. The proposal submitted to PPRP requests resourcing to ensure Gaia data is made available in a manner which is optimal for UK science exploitation, by supporting UK leadership roles in the delivery of the Gaia Data Archive, with involvement in the key areas of science requirements definition, documentation, and archive design.

14:30 – 15:45: The A+ Upgrade: Expanding the Advanced LIGO Horizon (ALIGO+)

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment in the US comprising two observatories (in Louisiana and Washington State) designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop the observations as an astronomical tool. The UK contribution to A+ requires a 48 month project to run in parallel with the U.S. which was recently approved for an October 2018 start. The primary objective of the joint project is to increase the sensitivity of the aLIGO detectors resulting in the increased science yield. The upgrade is a key element of both UK and global strategies for the development of the gravitational wave detector network and its exploitation.

The Panel goes into closed session for the rest of the day.