The LIGO Open Science Center

We propose to begin the development of the LIGO Open Science Center (LOSC), which will give access to LIGO data to a broad user community. The LOSC will gather relevant data products generated by the LIGO Laboratory and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and its partner scientific collaborations, and make those data products available to outside users along with tools and support for those users' goals. The LOSC will operate before, during, and beyond operation of the Advanced LIGO observations, providing user services that are not funded or available in any other way. Data products, supplied by LIGO Laboratory and the LSC, will include low-latency transient GW event candidate broadcasts; catalogs with information about confirmed transient and long-duration detections; the full strain time series data stream in 6 month intervals with associated data quality information; and digital data products associated with all LIGO and LSC publications. When completed, the LOSC will provide (a) a web portal, client tools, and a layer of data access services through which the user can discover and access a range of LIGO data and metadata products; (b) long-term data curation; (c) user documentation, helpdesk, online tutorials, and user feedback forums; (d) sponsorship of tutorials, workshops and conferences to help users derive maximal science from the data and communicate their experiences and findings to each other and to the LSC; and (e) LIGO data-centric resources to facilitate LIGO and LSC education and public outreach efforts about gravitational wave and related science. In FY13 we will begin the initial development phase of the LOSC and provide a foundation for continued development and deployment in the era of Advanced LIGO operations (FY14 and beyond).

The public release of LIGO data by the LOSC will enable broad participation in the advancement of gravitational wave physics and astrophysics. Numerical relativists, relativity theorists, and astronomers and astrophysicists will use LIGO observations to better understand the dynamics of strongly curved spacetime, and the origins and properties of gravitational wave sources. The LOSC will enable cross-disciplinary science throughout the relativity and astrophysics community, enabling scientists to ask deeper questions and carry the field in new directions. It will be interoperable with other astronomy data systems from both NASA and the NSF Virtual Observatory, to enable joint data mining and cross-referencing with other archives. It will promote international efforts for open data through interactions with gravitational wave projects in France, India, Italy, and Japan. It will extend and leverage the LIGO observations by making data available and usable into the far future. It will enable the use of LIGO data for education of university undergraduates and graduate students, and amateur and professional scientists, throughout the nation and the world. Through the activities of LIGO Laboratory and LSC outreach efforts, it will provide resources for public outreach to build interest and excitement in gravitational wave and multi-messenger astronomy in young scientists and the public.