RESONANT GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE DETECTORS - A PROGRESS REPORT

We report on recent advances on resonant-mass detectors for gravitational radiation. After a review of the concepts that underlie the development of antennas and the enhancement of their sensitivity, the most recent results on coincidence observation between two cryogenic antennas, Explorer and Allegro, are presented. We then describe the efforts currently under way to bring into operation a third generation, ultracryogenic detector, and finally present a review of new ideas and techniques, currently being studied or developed in laboratories around the world, that could lead to substantial improvements in antenna design.