Netherlands International Gravitational Tender

Outgoing Minister of Education Culture and Science Ingrid van Engelshoven opens ETpathfinder today in Maastricht. This state-of-the-art physics laboratory will serve as a testing ground for the development of technology for future gravitational wave detectors. The arrival of ETpathfinder also strengthens the position of the border region as a candidate location for the new European gravitational wave detector the Einstein Telescope.ETpathfinder is currently being built at Maastricht University. The University of South Limburg together with the Dutch physics institute Nikhef is the driving force behind the project in which knowledge institutions from all over Europe are also involved. Professor Stefan Hild project leader of ETpathfinder We started ETpathfinder with 15 partners from the Netherlands Belgium and Germany. Universities and research institutes from France Great Britain and Spain have also started contributing since then. Its great to see all this international expertise coming together here in our facility.The ETpathfinder is an important asset to science in the Netherlands said outgoing minister Van Engelshoven. We are thus strengthening both the development of large-scale scientific infrastructure and the ambition to conduct fundamental research. I am pleased to have been able to contribute to this instrument together with the other partners.Deputy Stephan Satijn Economics and Education If we can cash in on our candidacy for the Einstein Telescope this triangle of cross-border measuring tubes will give the Netherlands a leading role in science worldwide. This also includes an enormous economic multiplier at the euregional and national level. The billions in European investments pay for themselves threefold. Furthermore the groundbreaking underground observatory is estimated to provide nearly seventeen hundred structural jobs and it is an unprecedented magnet for the development of scientific and technical talent for our country. With the opening of the Pathfinder we are taking a huge step forward today.Gravitational WavesGravitational waves teach us more about the universe. For example what happened right after the Big Bang Gravitational waves are created when two celestial bodies such as black holes or neutron stars collide. This natural disaster causes a ripple in space-time. However its effect is so small that it was only measured for the first time in 2015. It took about 100 years before the technology was advanced enough to actually detect gravitational waves which Albert Einstein already predicted in 1916.experimental gardenWith ETpathfinder physicists are looking to the future. A new European gravitational wave detector should be ready around the year 2035 the Einstein Telescope. The Einstein Telescope requires an investment of approximately 2 billion euros and will be about 10 times more sensitive than current measurement setups. This should lead to hundreds of thousands or even millions of observations of gravitational waves every year. However such a large increase in sensitivity cannot be achieved with existing technology.The necessary technologies and techniques will therefore first be developed and tested with ETpathfinder. This concerns for example new cooling techniques mirror coatings and lasers which are being developed by collaborating knowledge institutions and high-tech companies. These innovations are also expected to find other applications in industry.The facility itself will consist of a large dust-free hall with a stable temperature a cleanroom. Various forms of laser interferometers the technique used to measure gravitational waves can be set up in it over the next 20 to 30 years. These setups consist of several towers containing all kinds of equipment and arms of vacuum tubes 20 meters long. This is not long enough to measure gravitational waves but it is enough to be able to develop and test all kinds of technologies and their interaction.The Netherlands and the Einstein TelescopeIt is no coincidence that ETpathfinder is emerging in Maastricht. The border region next to the Italian island of Sardinia is a promising construction site for the actual Einstein Telescope. In addition to the presence of ETpathfinder South Limburg scores high among other things because of the special soil composition which dampens disturbing vibrations in the subsoil. Above ground it is also relatively quiet. For example there are few railway lines and wind turbines in the area. At the same time the area offers good facilities and the region is home to many knowledge institutions and technology companies.Van Engelshoven also underlines this role of ETpathfinder It also prepares the Netherlands Belgium and Germany very well for a future large Einstein Telescope and it is proof of the excellent cooperation between the three countries. We are working hard together to bring the large Einstein Telescope to the Netherlands but that is of course for the future. Such a large-scale research infrastructure is an enormous opportunity for the region.An international platform to be formed will probably decide around 2025 where the Einstein Telescope will be built. That makes little difference to ETpathfinder the Maastricht facility will continue to play an important role in the Einstein Telescope. ETpathfinder is made possible in part by Interreg Flanders-Netherlands financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union.