For five years I have been the leading researcher on the frequency distribution subsystem, a central part of the LISA Metrology System that deals with the phase fidelity of high-frequency signal generation and distribution. My work includes the evaluation of electronics, electro-optical components, laser systems, and optical amplifiers to transmit GHz signals via lasers light between the spacecraft. Additionally I substantially enhanced the complex frequency swapping plan to minimize the interferometer heterodyne frequency, thus improving the overall sensitivity of the observatory.

Recently I completed a publicly available scientific web application, the Gravitational Wave Observatory Designer, that will help to explore the entire parameter space of various spaceborne gravitational wave observatories.

My research was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, Germany, and the Department of Physics of the University of Florida in Gainesville (FL), in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark and our industrial partner Axcon Aps in Lyngby, Denmark. The project was financed by the Centre for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research (QUEST) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Many documents were created that are under non disclosure agreement with ESA. Availability can be inquired by the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) through ESA/ESTEC, Contract No. AO/1-6238/10/NL/HB. The final research report though wase made public in 2014.

In space, no one can hear you scream, but a star that falls into a black hole shudders space-time to such an extent that one could actually hear its 'death cry' in form of gravitational waves. The analysis of these waves will teach us about as yet unknown underlying physics.

Our team at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, Germany, is leading the international research on laser interferometry in space. Currently there are over 40 institutions involved worldwide, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, and the Imperial College London. We are about to measure the separation distance between three spacecraft with unrivalled precision. It is the observation of tiny disturbances in this distance – caused by violent events throughout the entire universe – that will usher the dawn of gravitational wave astronomy.

The inter-spacecraft laser interferometry will be the key component of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a straw man mission for the science theme 'The Gravitational Universe'. It was recently chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) to be launched in the 2030s. The technology is currently being adapted by us to also map the Earth's gravitational field. It will be part of the joint US-German Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment Follow-on mission ( GRACE-FO) to be launched in 2017.

Within the scope of the two billion dollars LISA mission one has to trade-off between interferometer arm-length, telescope diameter, laser power, and many more parameters to achieve the best possible scientific value. The goal obviously is to construct the most sensitive observatory within technical and budgetary constraints. There are many technical noise sources, and when you change just one mission parameter, one of those might limit the final observatory's sensitivity. Multiple design studies were performed over the last years, but technology is changing and new ideas often require to quickly explore the parameter space. This was not possible until recently.

What started with a simple spreadsheet and simplified equations developed into a complex web application. It will help you to understand the influences of design choices, point out the limiting noise sources, and help you to carefully balance out all mission parameters. All calculations are fully documented and you may download a detailed report based on the given parameters.

The HTML5 based graphical user interface was designed using jQuery, a cross-platform JavaScript library, and Elements from Polymer, an open-source Web Components-based library made available by Google Inc. The compliance with Google Inc.'s 'Material Design' guidelines allows for a unified user experience across a wide range of devices, screen sizes, and formats. All calculations are done by a Perl CGI back end that is connected to the GUI via Ajax, a technique for asynchronous client-side JavaScript and XML. It interfaces with gnuplot, an open source command-line program to generate graphics in various formats including interactive SVG plots. PDF documents are created by LaTeX, a document preparation system and markup language, and the raw data is also available for download in ZIP archive file format.

A paper that describes all underlying calculations was submitted recently and is available as arXiv electronic preprint. Test the Gravitational Wave Observatory Designer at www.spacegravity.org or watch the instructional video below.