Related papers: VLTI Unit Telescope coud\'e train vibration contro…

The intracavity power, and hence sensitivity, of optomechanical sensors is commonly limited by parametric instability. Here we characterize the parametric instability induced sensitivity degradation in a micron scale cavity optomechanical…

Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are based on high precision laser interferometry. One promising technique to improve the detector's sensitivity is the detuning of an optical cavity, which enhances the signal at around certain…

Navigation, bio-tracking devices and gravity gradiometry are amongst the diverse range of applications requiring ultrasensitive measurements of acceleration. We describe an accelerometer that exploits the dispersive and dissipative coupling…

For gravitational-wave interferometric detectors, there is a tradeoff between the detector bandwidth and peak sensitivity when focusing on the shot noise level. This has to do with the frequency-dependent propagation phase lag (positive…

Gravitational waves produced at kilohertz frequencies in the aftermath of a neutron star collision can shed light on the behavior of matter at extreme temperatures and densities that are inaccessible to laboratory experiments.…

We consider using optomechanical accelerometers as resonant detectors for ultralight dark matter. As a concrete example, we describe a detector based on a silicon nitride membrane fixed to a beryllium mirror, forming an optical cavity. The…

At the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, the purpose of the fringe-tracker FINITO is to stabilize the optical path differences between the beams, allowing longer integration times on the scientific instruments AMBER and MIDI. Our goal is…

Recently, a considerable amount of attention has been given to the search for ultralight dark matter by measuring the oscillating length changes in the arm cavities of gravitational wave detectors. Although gravitational wave detectors are…

Three mode parametric instability has been predicted in Advanced gravitational wave detectors. Here we present the first observation of this phenomenon in a large scale suspended optical cavity designed to be comparable to those of advanced…

VERITAS is an array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes sensitive to gamma rays in the energy range between 85 GeV and 30 TeV. The instrument underwent an upgrade of the camera triggers in November 2011. The new systems use 400 MHz…

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…

We propose a new method to detect the gravitational lenses in the ongoing microlensing experiments using medium and high resolution spectroscopy (resolution > 6000). Since the radial velocity of the lens and lensed source typically differs…

Recently, Adaptive Secondary Mirrors showed excellent on-sky results in the Near Infrared wavelengths. They currently provide 30mm inter-actuator spacing and about 1 kHz bandwidth. Pushing these devices to be operated at visible wavelengths…

A key action for enhancing the sensitivity of gravitational wave (GW) detectors based on laser interferometry is to increase the laser power. However, in such a high-power regime, a nonlinear optomechanical phenomenon called parametric…

GRAVITY+ improves by orders of magnitude the sensitivity, sky-coverage and contrast of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A central part of this project is the development of Gravity Plus Adaptive Optics (GPAO), a dedicated…

Optical levitation of mechanical oscillators has been suggested as a promising way to decouple the environmental noise and increase the mechanical quality factor. Here, we investigate the dynamics of a free-standing mirror acting as the top…

The KAGRA Collaboration has investigated a ten-year upgrade strategy for the KAGRA gravitational wave detector, considering a total of 14 upgrade options that vary in mirror mass, quantum noise reduction techniques, and the quality of…

Although experimental efforts have been active for about 30 years now, a direct laboratory observation of vacuum magnetic birefringence, an effect due to vacuum fluctuations, still needs confirmation. Indeed, the predicted birefringence of…

We present an optically-detected mechanical accelerometer that achieves a sensitivity of 100 ng/rtHz over a bandwidth of 10kHz and is traceable. We have incorporated a Fabry-Perot fiber-optic micro-cavity that is currently capable of…

We present an experiment set to address a standard specification aiming at avoiding local turbulence inside the Coud\'e train of telescopes. Namely, every optical surface should be kept within a 1.5$^\circ$ range around ambient temperature.…