Karsten Danzmann – Prizewinner 2017

The German physicist and his team have developed the key technologies, including high-precision lasers, with which detectors in America were able to provide direct evidence of gravitational waves for the first time in 2015. Astronomers have thus literally opened a new window to the cosmos, as they were previously able to explore the universe only by means of electromagnetic waves – light, radio waves, X-rays or gamma rays. "Now gravity has practically sent us its own messengers, the gravitational waves," says Danzmann. "They mark the beginning of the era of gravitational wave astronomy, which promises new discoveries, as 99 percent of the universe is dark." With the funds of the Körber Prize, Danzmann intends, amongst other things, to further refine laser technology for earth-based detectors.
In the autumn of 2015, a worldwide team of physicists achieved a sensation: The American LIGO detectors were able to provide direct evidence of gravitational waves for the first time. Albert Einstein had theoretically predicted the existence of gravitational waves as early as 1916. According to his theory of relativity, gravity results from the fact that a mass bends four-dimensional space-time. This can be envisaged as a tightly stretched rubber mat. If a heavy ball is placed on it, it buckles downwards – space-time bends. If a smaller ball then passes nearby, its path is deflected by the dent of the heavy ball. This path deviation is the effect of gravity in space-time.
The enormous measurement precision of the LIGO lasers is the main achievement of the Danzmann team. In Hannover, the researchers operate the GEO600 detector, whose arms are 600 metres long. In work lasting decades, the physicists have trimmed the lasers and measuring instruments in the detector to the highest precision. For example, the optical systems are suspended as pendulums in order to absorb vibrations. Both the laser beam and the measured signals are recycled in the system for amplification. This has further increased the measuring sensitivity tenfold. These technologies, which were initially developed for basic research, are now widely used for practical purposes in many fields, for example in geodesy satellites and in data communication.
Karsten Danzmann, 62, is Director of the MPI for Gravitational Physics. Parallel to this, he has taught at the Leibniz University of Hannover since 1993, where he is Head of the Institute of Gravitational Physics. The Körber European Science Prize 2017 was presented to Karsten Danzmann on 7 September in the Great Festival Hall of Hamburg Town Hall.
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Report of the presentation of the prize
Hearing the universe
More than a billion years ago, two merging black holes sent out a signal. In 2015, it was received on Earth. It was not electromagnetic waves, it was a gravity signal, i.e. gravitational waves. Although Albert Einstein had predicted this in his theory of relativity more than 100 years ago, he also maintained that they were so weak that it would never be possible to detect them. The fact that this interplay of cosmic forces and the human mind turned out well in the end is thanks to the astrophysicist Karsten Danzmann. He is persistent, as he himself says. This was a prerequisite for not losing heart over years of listening to the universe. In the end, science was successful with the key technologies that he invented. In 2015, gravitational waves were not only successfully detected in America, but they could even be made audible within the cosmic noise.
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Artists' impressions of the planned space mission LISA
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Simulation of the first merging black holes observed by LIGO
Photo: MPI for Gravitational Physics, Hanover
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Panorama view of the 10-metre prototype interferometer
Photo: H. Lück/ Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
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Photos of the presentation of the Koerber European Science Prize 2017 to Karsten Danzmann on September 7, Hamburg Town Hall.
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Dr. Lothar Dittmer, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Körber Foundation (right), and Prof. Dr. Martin Stratmann, President of the Max Planck Society (left), presenting the 2017 Körber European Science Prize to Karsten Danzmann
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Körber prize winner Karsten Danzmann in conversation with science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar
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Science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar next to a graphic illustrating the merger of two black holes
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Award ceremony on 7 September 2017 in Hamburg's City Hall
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