Chapter 1: Gravitational waves and their interactions with detectors

This chapter is an introduction to the book. It begins with some history of gravitational waves and describes a few recent measurements of compact binary gravitational wave sources that serve to give a preview of the new field of gravitational wave astronomy as a component of multi-messenger astronomy and astrophysics. After a review of the different techniques being developed to measure gravitational waves (with periods ranging from billions of years to milliseconds), the presentation focuses on terrestrial detection by optical interferometry, which is the main topic of the book. Here, the basic ideas for interferometric detection are developed, followed by an introduction to the various limiting noise sources. Beginning with fundamental limits and the techniques used to measure and reduce them, this chapter ends off by listing technical noise sources that can be reduced by careful engineering and good experimental practice. The various sections below will also direct readers to other chapters in this volume where these topics are discussed in greater detail. The chapter concludes with a brief presentation of challenges and opportunities for the future of the field.