Michele Armano

TL;DR: The first results of the LISA Pathfinder in-flight experiment demonstrate that two free-falling reference test masses, such as those needed for a space-based gravitational wave observatory like LISA, can be put in free fall with a relative acceleration noise with a square root of the power spectral density.

TL;DR: This performance provides an experimental benchmark demonstrating the ability to realize the low-frequency science potential of the LISA mission, recently selected by the European Space Agency.

TL;DR: The LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is a science and technology demonstrator planned by the European Space Agency in view of the LISA mission as discussed by the authors, and the progress made in preparing its effective implementation in flight.

TL;DR: The current status of the LISA Pathfinder mission is described, a precursor mission aimed at demonstrating key technologies for future space-based gravitational wave detectors, like LISA, and performance measurements and analysis of these flight components lead to an expected performance of theLISA Pathfinder which is a significant improvement over the mission requirements.

TL;DR: Electrostatic measurements made on board the European Space Agency mission LISA Pathfinder are the first made in a relevant environment for a space-based gravitational wave detector and resolve the stochastic nature of the TM charge buildup due to interplanetary cosmic rays and theTM charge-to-force coupling through stray electric fields in the sensor.