Speaker
Description
The relative intensity noise of a laser source impacts the interferometers non-trivially. Understanding how the intensity noise couples to different parts of the interferometer yields various important metrics to the stability and performance of the detector. These metrics also change in time as the interferometer thermalizes. Though current detectors’ differential arm sensitivities are not limited by intensity noise, future detectors may face challenges reaching increased sensitivity targets if designs are not intentional in their mitigation.
This talk will focus on the dynamics of intensity noise around the Advanced LIGO interferometer design, and will discuss design efforts for future detectors such as Cosmic Explorer. Specifically, it will discuss the efforts to measure the limiting factors of the noise budget of Advanced LIGO's Intensity Stabilization Servo for O4c. It also discusses efforts to derive and understand the coupling of the laser intensity noise, not only to the interferometer’s displacement sensitivity, but other relevant ports for the sensing and control of the interferometer. It also highlights metrics that these coupling functions probe related to the interferometer’s performance. Finally, it discusses how these measurements and models can be used in the design of future detectors such as Cosmic Explorer, given increased sensitivity requirements.