Conveners
Prototypes for R&D 1
- Koji Arai (Caltech)
- Bram Slagmolen (The Australian National University)
- Sebastian Steinlechner (Maastricht University & Nikhef)
Description
Prototypes for current interferometers
Improving the sensitivity of current and next generation gravitational wave detector requires increased circulating power and improved quantum noise suppression from squeezing. To achieve the sensitivity increases requires that the optical surfaces within the interferometer must be controlled to exquisite precision. These surfaces are controlled by the thermal compensation system....
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...
The study presents the updates and challenges of compact isolation of a large mirror (100 kg) at low frequency (below 10 Hz). The isolator consists of mounting a passive inverted pendulum platform (IPP) on an active inertial platform (AP) and suspending multiple cascaded pendulums from the IPP. The new approach results in a very low resonance frequency (0.07 Hz) and provides ultra-low...
The third-generation of gravitational wave observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) and Cosmic Explorer, aim for an improvement in sensitivity of at least a factor of ten over a wide frequency range compared to the current advanced detectors. In order to inform the design of the 3G detectors and to develop and qualify their subsystems, dedicated test facilities are required. The...
"Mariner: The Cryogenic Upgrade of the 40m Prototype Interferometer"
LIGO Caltech operates a 40m prototype interferometer to validate interferometer technologies. Mariner is a prototype project of the 40m interferometer to be a prototype of Voyager, which is the cryogenic version of the LIGO interferometers. The Mariner interferometer employs cryogenic silicon test masses and a 2$\mu$m...
Silicon with AlGaAs coatings is a promising technology for future gravitational wave detectors. There are several unanswered questions that we aim to probe in experiments at the University of Western Australia and the High Optical Power Facility. In this presentation we present measured results of birefringence in float zone Silicon test-masses and beam-splitters. We present the...
