Lisa

Abstract

The extreme weakness of the gravitational interaction has as one of its consequences that appreciable intensities of gravitational waves (GW) can only be generated in large size astrophysical and cosmological sources. Earth based detectors face unsurmountable problems to be sensitive to signals at frequencies below 10 Hz due to seismic vibrations. In order to see lower frequency signals, a space based detector is the natural solution. LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a joint ESA-NASA project aimed at detecting GWs in a range of frequencies between 10^{-4} Hz and 10^{-1} Hz, and consists in a constellation of three spacecraft in heliocentric orbit, whose GW-induced armlength variations are monitored by high precision interferometry. This article reviews the main features and scientific goals of the LISA mission, as well as a shorter description of its precursor tecnological mission LPF (LISA Pathfinder).