Related papers: Overview of Advanced LIGO Adaptive Optics
As the first generation of laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors near operation, research and development has begun on increasing the instrument's sensitivity while utilizing the existing infrastructure. In the Laser…
The Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors are nearing their design sensitivity and should begin taking meaningful astrophysical data in the fall of 2015. These resonant optical interferometers will have unprecedented sensitivity to the…
In an experiment to simulate the conditions in high optical power advanced gravitational wave detectors such as Advanced LIGO, we show that strong thermal lenses form in accordance with predictions and that they can be compensated using an…
We present the design and performance of the LIGO Input Optics subsystem as implemented for the sixth science run of the LIGO interferometers. The Initial LIGO Input Optics experienced thermal side effects when operating with 7 W input…
Thermal lensing in resonant optical interferometers such as those used for gravitational wave detection is a concern due to the negative impact on control signals and instrument sensitivity. In this paper we describe a method for monitoring…
Advanced laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors use high laser power to achieve design sensitivity. A small part of this power is absorbed in the interferometer cavity mirrors where it creates thermal lenses, causing aberrations…
High-reflectivity fused silica mirrors are at the epicentre of current advanced gravitational wave detectors. In these detectors, the mirrors interact with high power laser beams. As a result of finite absorption in the high reflectivity…
In this paper we study several means of compensating for thermal lensing which, otherwise, should be a source of concern for future upgrades of interferometric detectors of gravitational waves. The methods we develop are based on the…
The response of the Advanced LIGO interferometers is known to vary with time [arXiv:1608.05134]. Accurate calibration of the interferometers must therefore track and compensate for temporal variations in calibration model parameters. These…
The two interferometers of the Laser Interferometry Gravitaional-wave Observatory (LIGO) recently detected gravitational waves from the mergers of binary black hole systems. Accurate calibration of the output of these detectors was crucial…
We devise a laser-controlled adaptive optical element which operates intracavity under high intensity radiation. This element substitutes a conventional mechanically deformable mirror and is free of critical heat-sensitive components and…
The ``optical springs'' regime of the signal-recycled configuration of laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors is analyzed taking in account optical losses in the interferometer arm cavities. This regime allows to obtain…
Currently planned second-generation gravitational-wave laser interferometers such as Advanced LIGO exploit the extensively investigated signal-recycling (SR) technique. Candidate Advanced LIGO configurations are usually designed to have two…
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…
Gravitational waves have revolutionised the field of astronomy by providing scientists with a new way to observe the universe and gain a better understanding of exotic objects like black holes. Several large-scale laser interferometric…
We describe the angular sensing and control of the 4 km detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). The culmination of first generation LIGO detectors, Enhanced LIGO operated between 2009 and 2010 with about…
The differential refraction of light passing through the atmosphere can have a severe impact on image quality if no atmospheric dispersion corrector (ADC) is used. For the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) this holds true well into the…
The sensitivity of ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors will be improved in the future via the injection of frequency-dependent squeezed vacuum. The achievable improvement is ultimately limited by losses of the interferometer…
The LIGO Interferometer Sensing and Control System (ISC) is a large and highly distributed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) control system that is used to control the length and alignment degrees of freedom of the interferometers. The…
The Advanced LIGO detectors are sophisticated opto-mechanical devices. At the core of their operation is feedback control. The Advanced LIGO project developed a custom digital control and data acquisition system to handle the unique needs…