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We consider a recent scheme of gravitational wave detection using atomic interferometers as inertial sensors, and reinvestigate its configuration using the concept of sensitivity functions. We show that such configuration can suppress noise…
Precision timing of highly stable milli-second pulsars is a promising technique for the detection of very low frequency sources of gravitational waves. In any single pulsar, a stochastic gravitational wave signal appears as an additional…
In a recent table-top experiment we demonstrated the compatibility of three advanced interferometer techniques for gravitational wave detection, namely power-recycling, detuned signal-recycling and squeezed field injection. The…
Thermal noise is expected to be the dominant source of noise in the most sensitive frequency band of second generation ground based gravitational wave detectors. Reshaping the beam to a flatter wider profile which probes more of the mirror…
Gravitational-wave observatories around the world are searching for continuous waves: persistent signals from sources such as spinning neutron stars. These searches use sophisticated statistical techniques to look for weak signals in noisy…
We describe three fundamentally different methods we have applied to calibrate the test mass displacement actuators to search for systematic errors in the calibration of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors. The actuation frequencies…
Current terrestrial gravitational-wave detectors operate at frequencies above 10 Hz. There is strong astrophysical motivation to construct low-frequency gravitational-wave detectors capable of observing 10 mHz - 10Hz signals. While…
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…
Recent spectacular results of gravitational waves obtained by the LIGO system, with frequencies in the 100 Hz regime, make corresponding laboratory experiments with full control over cause and effect of great importance. Dynamic…
The low-frequency resolution of space-based gravitational wave observatories such as LISA (Laser Interferometry Space Antenna) hinges on the orbital purity of a free-falling reference test mass inside a satellite shield. We present here a…
We present the design and commissioning of a cryogenic low-vibration test facility that measures displacement noise from a gram-scale silicon cantilever at the level of 10$^{-16}\, \mathrm{m/\sqrt{Hz}}$ at 1kHz. A volume of $\sim$36 litres…
Electrostatic force actuation is a key component of the system of geodesic reference test masses (TM) for the LISA orbiting gravitational wave observatory and in particular for performance at low frequencies, below 1 mHz, where the…
We propose two distinct atom interferometer gravitational wave detectors, one terrestrial and another satellite-based, utilizing the core technology of the Stanford 10 m atom interferometer presently under construction. Each configuration…
The first detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 launched the era of gravitational wave astronomy. The quest for gravitational wave signals from objects that are fainter or…
Precision sensing and manipulation of milligram-scale mechanical oscillators has attracted growing interest in the fields of table-top explorations of gravity and tests of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales. Torsional oscillators…
Squeezing the quadrature noise of a harmonic oscillator used as a sensor can enhance its sensitivity in certain measurment schemes. The canonical approach, based on parametric modulation of the oscillation frequency, is usually limited to a…
The ongoing global effort to detect gravitational waves continues to push the limits of precision measurement while aiming to provide a new tool for understanding both astrophysics and fundamental physics. Squeezed states of light offer a…
The sensitivity of next-generation gravitational-wave detectors such as Advanced LIGO and LCGT should be limited mostly by quantum noise with an expected technical progress to reduce seismic noise and thermal noise. Those detectors will…
A system was recently implemented in the Virgo detector to cancel noise in its data produced by seismic waves directly coupling with the suspended test masses through gravitational interaction. The data from seismometers are being filtered…
We discuss an algorithm that eliminates the periodic non-linearity of a bimorph piezo actuator by modifying the phase of the voltage waveforms used for driving the actuator. The procedure presented allows for a separate optimization of the…