Pune: The upcoming LIGO India project in Maharashtra is expected to become the world’s most sensitive scientific instrument, according to Professor Rana Adhikari of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), one of the leading scientists associated with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States. He made the remarks while delivering the Chandra Public Lecture at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune.
Prof Adhikari said LIGO India is being designed using years of experience and technological advancements gained from the US observatories, allowing it to surpass the sensitivity of existing detectors. Unlike earlier facilities, the Indian observatory will incorporate improvements developed after 2015, making it significantly more advanced from the outset.
He also described LIGO India as the world’s first “AI-first” gravitational-wave detector, explaining that future operations will rely on a combination of human expertise and artificial intelligence to manage its highly complex systems. According to him, this approach will dramatically improve operational speed and efficiency while fostering innovation in India rather than merely replicating American technology.
Initially, the observatory will begin operations using some components transferred from LIGO US. However, Prof Adhikari clarified that these older systems will gradually be upgraded with newer technologies.
LIGO US, which cost more than $1.4 billion to build, made history in 2016 by detecting gravitational waves for the first time, confirming a prediction Albert Einstein made a century earlier through his general theory of relativity.
The Indian government approved the LIGO India project in 2016, with construction work beginning in 2026. Prof Adhikari, who played a key role in bringing the project to India, revealed that the US had debated establishing the next LIGO facility in either Australia or India before the latter was selected.
Calling LIGO “the most sensitive device humanity has ever created,” he said the observatory will deepen scientific understanding of the universe while strengthening India’s position in cutting-edge astrophysics and global scientific research.
