Related papers: The Advanced LIGO Input Optics
This is an overview of the adaptive optics used in Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), known as the thermal compensation system (TCS). The thermal compensation system was designed to minimize thermally-induced spatial distortions in the interferometer…
Gravitational-wave (GW) laser interferometers such as Advanced LIGO transduce spacetime strain into optical power fluctuation. Converting this optical power fluctuations back into an estimated spacetime strain requires a calibration process…
This article reviews current efforts and plans for gravitational-wave detection, the gravitational-wave sources that might be detected, and the information that the detectors might extract from the observed waves. Special attention is paid…
Parametric instabilities have long been studied as a potentially limiting effect in high-power interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Until now, however, these instabilities have never been observed in a kilometer-scale…
In the fall of 2015 the first scientific observing run (O1) of the advanced LIGO detectors will be conducted. Based on the recent commissioning progress at the LIGO Hanford and Livingston sites, the gravitational wave detector range for a…
We show that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a powerful instrument in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). LIGO's ability to detect gravitational waves (GWs) from astrophysical sources, such…
This paper reviews some of the key enabling technologies for advanced and future laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors, which must combine test masses with the lowest possible optical and acoustic losses, with high stability…
Multimessenger astronomy incorporating gravitational radiation is a new and exciting field that will potentially provide significant results and exciting challenges in the near future. With advanced interferometric gravitational wave…
Precise calibration of kilometer-scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors is crucial for source localization and waveform reconstruction. A technique that uses the radiation pressure of a power-modulated auxiliary laser to induce…
The advent of gravitational wave astronomy (GW) has revolutionized the observation of cataclysmic cosmic events, such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has been…
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we…
Gravitational-wave detection has been pursued relentlessly for over 40 years. With the imminent operation of a new generation of laser interferometers, it is expected that detections will become a common occurrence. The research into more…
The sensitivity of the Advanced LIGO detectors to gravitational waves can be affected by environmental disturbances external to the detectors themselves. Since the transition from the former initial LIGO phase, many improvements have been…
To meet the strain sensitivity requirements [1], [2] of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the laser frequency and amplitude noise must initially be reduced by a factor of 1000 in the pre-stabilized portion of…
For 17 days in August and September 2002, the LIGO and GEO interferometer gravitational wave detectors were operated in coincidence to produce their first data for scientific analysis. Although the detectors were still far from their design…
We study the use of atom interferometers as detectors for gravitational waves in the mHz - Hz frequency band, which is complementary to planned optical interferometers, such as laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories (LIGOs)…
The data taken by the advanced LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors contains short duration noise transients that limit the significance of astrophysical detections and reduce the duty cycle of the instruments. As the advanced…
We anticipate the first direct detections of gravitational waves (GWs) with Advanced LIGO and Virgo later this decade. Though this groundbreaking technical achievement will be its own reward, a still greater prize could be observations of…
Direct and unequivocal detection of gravitational waves represents a great challenge of contemporary physics and astrophysics. A worldwide effort is currently operating towards this direction, building ever sensitive detectors, improving…
Laser interferometers with high circulating power and suspended optics, such as the LIGO gravitational wave detectors, experience an optomechanical coupling effect known as a parametric instability: the runaway excitation of a mechanical…