Preparatory Phase for the Einstein Telescope Gravitational Wave Observatory

Einstein Telescope (ET) will be the European Third-Generation (3G) Gravitational Wave (GW) Observatory, designed to observe the Universe by covering the whole spectrum observable from Earth with interferometric GW detectors. ET will put Europe at the forefront of the GW research being the first and most advanced 3G GW observatory. Europe will take the lead in the newborn multi-messenger astronomy by combining information delivered by ET with optical, IR, UV, gamma, cosmic ray and neutrino telescopes observations. ET will impact on our fundamental physics knowledge, and our understanding of the fundamental interactions governing the evolution of black-holes and neutron stars.

The ET preparatory phase (ET-PP) will address a number of fundamental prerequisites for the approval, construction and operation of ET. The main objective of this ET-PP proposal is to support crucial items in the preparatory phase of the experiment, including: the enlargement of the ET-PP Consortium, the legal framework, governance schemes, and financial regulations under which the ET RI would be constructed and operated; the technical design of the ET observatory; the preparation of documentation relevant for assisting the site selection process (being the site selection itself outside the scope of the ET-PP project), the required site infrastructure, and its socio-economic and environmental impacts; the schemes for technology transfer, procurement and industry involvement in the technical design and construction of ET; and the required linking with relevant science communities regarding the detailed definition of the science program, and the user services and data access model.

For ET-PP, support is sought for work on the legal, governance and financial issues, for the installation of a project office coordinating and supporting management of ET-PP as well as the design of ET and the planning of the implementation, for site-related work, for studies regarding the optimization and production of ET components by industry, for linking with science communities and for increasing social awareness.