TAMA 300 is a

gravitational wave detector A gravitational-wave detector (used in a gravitational-wave observatory) is any device designed to measure tiny distortions of spacetime called gravitational waves. Since the 1960s, various kinds of gravitational-wave detectors have been buil ...

located at the Mitaka campus of the

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan The (NAOJ) is an astronomy, astronomical research organisation comprising several facilities in Japan, as well as an observatory in Hawaii and Chile. It was established in 1988 as an amalgamation of three existing research organizations - the To ...

. It is a project of the

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in ...

studies group at the

Institute for Cosmic Ray Research The Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) of the University of Tokyo (東京大学宇宙線研究所 ''Tōkyōdaigaku Uchūsen Kenkyūsho'') was established in 1976 for the study of cosmic rays. The gravitational wave studies group is currently ...

(ICRR) of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. The ICRR was established in 1976 for cosmic ray studies, and is currently developing the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA). TAMA 300 was preceded in Mitaka by a 20m prototype TAMA 20 in years 1991-1994. Later the prototype was moved underground to Kamioka mine and renamed LISM. It operated 2000-2002 and established seismic quietness of the underground location. Construction of the TAMA project started in 1995. Data were collected from 1999 to 2004. It adopted a Fabry–Pérot

Michelson interferometer The Michelson interferometer is a common configuration for optical interferometry and was invented by the 19/20th-century American physicist Albert Abraham Michelson. Using a beam splitter, a light source is split into two arms. Each of those ...

(FPMI) with power recycling. It is officially known as the 300m Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Antenna due to having 300 meter long (optical) arms. The goal of the project was to develop advanced techniques needed for a future kilometer sized interferometer and to detect gravitational waves that may occur by chance within the

Local Group The Local Group is the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way. It has a total diameter of roughly , and a total mass of the order of . It consists of two collections of galaxies in a "dumbbell" shape: the Milky Way and its satellites form ...

. Observation of TAMA has been terminated, and work moved to the 100 m Cryogenic Laser Interferometer Observatory (CLIO) prototype in

Kamioka mine The is a neutrino and gravitational waves laboratory located underground in the Mozumi mine of the Kamioka Mining and Smelting Co. near the Kamioka section of the city of Hida in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. A set of groundbreaking neutrino experimen ...

. As of 2020, modified TAMA 300 is used as a testbed to develop new technologies.

References

Interferometers Gravitational-wave telescopes Astronomical observatories in Japan University of Tokyo {{observatory-stub

See also

References