Speaker
Description
The Albert-Einstein-Institute (AEI) 10m Prototype in Hannover, Germany serves as a testbed for techniques needed for future gravitational wave detectors. The ongoing work is to build a Fabry-Perot-Michelson interferometer which is limited by quantum noise over a wide range of input powers.
Even before the full interferometer is operational, improvements such as new interferometric sensors and their effect on a complex interferometer can be tested while also gaining practical experience with them. The suspension platform interferometer has recently been moved to a readout which is fully integrated in the CDS to improve robustness and simplify maintenance. Homodyne quadrature interferometers (HoQIs), in collaboration with the VU Amsterdam, were installed at the intermediate mass of the main beam splitter suspension to improve its damping performance.
