Site Evaluation and Cost Estimation for Cosmic Explorer

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Datrier, Laurence, Lovelace, Geoffrey, Smith, Joshua R., Saenz, Andrew, Romero, Amber
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Datrier, Laurence
Lovelace, Geoffrey
Smith, Joshua R.
Saenz, Andrew
Romero, Amber
author_facet Datrier, Laurence
Lovelace, Geoffrey
Smith, Joshua R.
Saenz, Andrew
Romero, Amber
contents Cosmic Explorer (CE) is a proposed next generation gravitational-wave observatory that would be sited in the United States. As of 2025, CE is in its design phase, with plans to begin operations in the 2030s together with the Einstein Telescope in Europe. CE's reference design consists of two widely separated L-shaped detectors, one with 20km arms and one with 40km arms, each based on technology proven by the National Science Foundation's highly successful Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). There are unique challenges associated with identifying locations suitable for hosting Cosmic Explorer in the conterminous United States, not least of which is the order of magnitude upscaling of the observatory with respect to the 4km LIGO observatories. Cosmic Explorer's approach to site evaluation integrates physical, social and cultural criteria. Here we present improvements to the Cosmic Explorer Location Search (CELS) code used to identify and assess locations where CE would have low construction costs incurred by the geology, geography and topography of the land. We also report on efforts to integrate astrophysical requirements established by the Cosmic Explorer Science Traceability Matrix into the site evaluation process. National-level results are presented and combined with results from a related National Suitability Analysis to provide a list of locations that are preliminarily promising for a 40km CE.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_05430
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Site Evaluation and Cost Estimation for Cosmic Explorer
Datrier, Laurence
Lovelace, Geoffrey
Smith, Joshua R.
Saenz, Andrew
Romero, Amber
Instrumentation and Detectors
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Cosmic Explorer (CE) is a proposed next generation gravitational-wave observatory that would be sited in the United States. As of 2025, CE is in its design phase, with plans to begin operations in the 2030s together with the Einstein Telescope in Europe. CE's reference design consists of two widely separated L-shaped detectors, one with 20km arms and one with 40km arms, each based on technology proven by the National Science Foundation's highly successful Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). There are unique challenges associated with identifying locations suitable for hosting Cosmic Explorer in the conterminous United States, not least of which is the order of magnitude upscaling of the observatory with respect to the 4km LIGO observatories. Cosmic Explorer's approach to site evaluation integrates physical, social and cultural criteria. Here we present improvements to the Cosmic Explorer Location Search (CELS) code used to identify and assess locations where CE would have low construction costs incurred by the geology, geography and topography of the land. We also report on efforts to integrate astrophysical requirements established by the Cosmic Explorer Science Traceability Matrix into the site evaluation process. National-level results are presented and combined with results from a related National Suitability Analysis to provide a list of locations that are preliminarily promising for a 40km CE.
title Site Evaluation and Cost Estimation for Cosmic Explorer
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05430