Related papers: Optimal Light Beams and Mirror Shapes for Future L…

We present the analysis of undesirable effect of parametric oscillatory instability in signal recycled LIGO interferometer. The basis for this effect is the excitation of the additional (Stokes) optical mode, with frequency $\omega_1$, and…

Coating thermal noise is a fundamental limit for precision experiments based on optical and quantum transducers. In this review, after a brief overview of the techniques for coating thermal noise measurements, we present the latest…

Thermal noise is a limiting factor in many high-precision optical experiments. A search is underway for novel optical materials with reduced thermal noise. One such pair of materials, gallium arsenide and aluminum-alloyed gallium arsenide…

Using a quantum mechanical approach, we show that in a gravitational-wave interferometer composed of arm cavities and a signal recycling cavity, e.g., the LIGO-II configuration, the radiation-pressure force acting on the mirrors not only…

In the last decade, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the European Virgo observatory have opened a new observational window on the universe. These cavity-enhanced laser interferometers sense spacetime…

MOEMS Deformable Mirrors (DM) are key components for next generation instruments with innovative adaptive optics systems, in existing telescopes and in the future ELTs. These DMs must perform at room temperature as well as in cryogenic and…

The LIGO gravitational wave (GW) detectors will begin collecting data in 2015, with Virgo following shortly after. The use of squeezing has been proposed as a way to reduce the quantum noise without increasing the laser power, and has been…

We have developed a calibration system based on a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror that is capable of delivering an optical beam over a wavelength range of 180 -- 2000 nm (0.62 -- 6.89 eV) in a sub-Kelvin environment. This…

For future configurations, we study the relation between the abatement of the noise sources and the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for coalescing binaries. Our aim is not the proposition of a new design, but an indication of where in the…

We investigate the sensitivity of individual LIGO/VIRGO-like interferometers and the precision with which they can determine the characteristics of an inspiralling binary system. Since the two interferometers of the LIGO detector share…

We introduce a concept that uses detuned arm cavities to increase the shot noise limited sensitivity of LIGO without increasing the light power inside the arm cavities. Numerical simulations show an increased sensitivity between 125 and 400…

KAGRA is a 3-km cryogenic interferometric gravitational wave telescope located at an underground site in Japan. In order to achieve its target sensitivity, the relative positions of the mirrors of the interferometer must be finely adjusted…

In order to achieve full detection sensitivity at low frequencies, the mirrors of interferometric gravitational wave detectors must be isolated from seismic noise. The VIRGO vibration isolator, called 'superattenuator', is fully effective…

The sensitivity of aLIGO detectors is adversely affected by the presence of noise caused by light scattering. Low frequency seismic disturbances can create higher frequency scattering noise adversely impacting the frequency band in which we…

We present a calculation of the maximum sensitivity achievable by the LIGO Gravitational wave detector in construction, due to limiting thermal noise of its suspensions. We present a method to calculate thermal noise that allows the…

The large scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors consist of Fabry-Perot cavities operating at very high powers ranging from tens of kW to MW for next generations. The high powers may result in several nonlinear effects which…

We present a method to analyse the coupling of lateral displacements in nanoscale structures, in particular waveguide grating mirrors (WGM), into the phase of a reflected Gaussian beam using a finite-difference time-domain simulation. Such…

The LIGO experiment aims to detect and study gravitational waves using ground based laser interferometry. A critical factor to the performance of the interferometers, and a major consideration in the design of possible future upgrades, is…

Mechanical loss of dielectric mirror coatings sets fundamental limits for both gravitational wave detectors and cavity-stabilized optical local oscillators for atomic clocks. Two approaches are used to determine the mechanical loss:…

In this paper, an opto-thermal analysis of a moderately heated lightweighted solar telescope mirror is carried out using 3D finite element analysis (FEA). A physically realistic heat transfer model is developed to account for the radiative…