Related papers: Small optic suspensions for Advanced LIGO input op…
Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes have previously been investigated as a candidate for reducing test-mass thermal noise in ground-based gravitational-wave detectors like Advanced LIGO. It has been shown however that LG modes' fragility…
The French-Italian interferometric gravitational wave detector VIRGO is currently being commissioned. Its principal instrument is a Michelson laser interferometer with 3 km long optical cavities in the arms and a power-recycling mirror. The…
Interferometric gravitational wave detectors operate with high optical power in their arms in order to achieve high shot-noise limited strain sensitivity. A significant limitation to increasing the optical power is the phenomenon of…
This paper reports on the design and characteristics of a compact module integrating an optical displacement sensor and an electromagnetic actuator for use with vibration-isolation systems installed in KAGRA, the 3-km baseline…
The French-Italian interferometric gravitational wave detector VIRGO is currently being commissioned. Its principal instrument is a Michelson interferometer with 3 km long optical cavities in the arms and a power-recycling mirror. This…
The first generation of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors, LIGO, GEO and Virgo, have operated and taken data at their design sensitivities over the last few years. The data has been examined for the presence of…
This paper presents an analysis of the conceptual design of a novel silicon suspension for the cryogenic test-mass mirrors of the low-frequency detector of the Einstein Telescope gravitational-wave observatory. In traditional suspensions,…
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…
The VIRGO superattenuator (SA) is effective in depressing the seismic noise below the thermal noise level above 4 Hz. On the other hand, the residual mirror motion associated to the SA normal modes can saturate the dynamics of the…
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…
The raw outputs of the detectors within the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory need to be calibrated in order to produce the estimate of the dimensionless strain used for astrophysical analyses. The two detectors…
We describe an optical simulation program that models a complete, coupled-cavity interferometer like those used by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Project. A wide variety of interferometer deformations can be…
Preliminary results from an optical-fiber gravitational wave interferometric detector are reported. The detector is very small, cheap and simple to build and operate. It is assembled from readily available opto-electronic components. A…
Following the upgrades to Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), measurements were made of the detector suspensions' frequency response characteristics. While most resonant frequencies could be identified with simple mechanical models, such as the fiber…
The thermal noise is expected to be one of the main limiting factors on the sensitivity of interferometric gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO and VIRGO. Thermal fluctuations of internal modes of the interferometer's test masses and of…
The use of fused-silica ribbons as suspensions in gravitational wave interferometers can result in significant improvements in pendulum mode thermal noise. Surface loss sets a lower bound to the level of noise achievable, at what level…
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…
Advanced gravitational wave interferometric detectors will operate at their design sensitivity with nearly 1MW of laser power stored in the arm cavities. Such large power may lead to the uncontrolled growth of acoustic modes in the test…
A network of three or more gravitational wave detectors simultaneously taking data is required to generate a well-localized sky map for gravitational wave sources, such as GW170817. Local seismic disturbances often cause the LIGO and Virgo…
Extending the sensitivity of terrestrial gravitational-wave detectors below 20 Hz is a long-standing challenge, limited by ground motion and inertial sensing noise. In this letter, we demonstrate ultra-high-vacuum compatible inertial…