Paper detail

Astrodynamical middle-frequency interferometric gravitational wave observatory AMIGO: Mission concept and orbit design

AMIGO is a first-generation Astrodynamical Middle-frequency Interferometric GW Observatory. The scientific goals of AMIGO are: to bridge the spectra gap between first-generation high-frequency and low-frequency GW sensitivities; to detect intermediate mass BH coalescence; to detect inspiral phase and predict time of binary black hole coalescence together with neutron star coalescence for ground interferometers; to detect compact binary inspirals for studying stellar evolution and galactic population. The mission concept is to use time delay interferometry for a nearly triangular formation of 3 drag-free spacecraft with nominal arm length 10,000 km, emitting laser power 2-10 W and telescope diameter 300-500 mm. The design GW sensitivity in the middle frequency band is 3 x 10^(-21) Hz^(-1/2). Both heliocentric and geocentric orbits are under study. All options have LISA-like formations, that is the triangular formation is 60 deg inclined to the orbit plane. For AMIGO, the first-generation time delay interferometry is good enough for the laser frequency noise suppression. We also investigate for each options of orbits under study, whether constant equal-arm implementation is feasible. For the solar-orbit option, the acceleration to maintain the formation can be designed to be less than 15 nm/s2 with the thruster requirement in the 15 μN range. AMIGO would be a good place to implement the constant equal-arm option. Fuel requirement, thruster noise requirement and test mass acceleration actuation requirement are briefly considered. From the orbit study, the solar orbit option is the first mission orbit choice. We study the deployment for this orbit option. A last-stage launch from 300 km LEO (Low Earth Orbit) to an appropriate 2-degree-behind-the-Earth AMIGO formation in 95 days requires only a δv of 75 m/s.