A Quantum-Enhanced Prototype Gravitational-Wave Detector
Abstract
The quantum nature of the electromagnetic field imposes a fundamental limit on the sensitivity of optical precision measurements such as spectroscopy, microscopy, and interferometry. The so-called quantum limit is set by the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field, which constrain the precision with which optical signals can be measured. In the world of precision measurement, laser-interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors are the most sensitive position meters ever operated, capable of measuring distance changes on the order of 10^-18 m RMS over kilometer separations caused by GWs from astronomical sources. The sensitivity of currently operational and future GW detectors is limited by quantum optical noise. Here we demonstrate a 44% improvement in displacement sensitivity of a prototype GW detector with suspended quasi-free mirrors at frequencies where the sensitivity is shot-noise-limited, by injection of a squeezed state of light. This demonstration is a critical step toward implementation of squeezing-enhancement in large-scale GW detectors.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0802.4118,
title = {A Quantum-Enhanced Prototype Gravitational-Wave Detector},
author = {Keisuke Goda and Osamu Miyakawa and Eugeniy E. Mikhailov and Shailendhar Saraf and Rana Adhikari and Kirk McKenzie and Robert Ward and Steve Vass and Alan J. Weinstein and Nergis Mavalvala},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0802.4118},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Nature Physics