Related papers: Adaptive thermal compensation of test masses in ad…
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…
A major barrier to improving the quantum-limited sensitivity of gravitational-wave observatories is the thermal distortions of the test masses which arise at megawatt laser power. Recent advances in a new form of higher-order wavefront…
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 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…
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…
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…
Test-mass thermal noise is a limiting noise source for current and next-generation ground-based gravitational-wave observatories. Uniform-intensity higher-order laser beams, including Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) and Hermite-Gaussian (HG) modes,…
Small, highly absorbing points are randomly present on the surfaces of the main interferometer optics in Advanced LIGO. The resulting nano-meter scale thermo-elastic deformations and substrate lenses from these micron-scale absorbers…
Suitable shaping (in particular, flattening and broadening) of the laser beam has recently been proposed as an effective device to reduce internal (mirror) thermal noise in advanced gravitational wave interferometric detectors. Based on…
The goal of the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is to detect and study gravitational waves of astrophysical origin. Direct detection of gravitational waves holds the promise of testing general relativity in the…
We demonstrate the potential of new adaptive optical technology to expand the detection horizon of gravitational-wave observatories. Achieving greater quantum-noise-limited sensitivity to spacetime strain hinges on achieving higher…
The interferometers being planned for second generation LIGO promise and order of magnitude increase in broadband strain sensitivity--with the corresponding cubic increase in detection volume--and an extension of the observation band to…
Accurate thermal modeling of Terminal Test Masses (TTMs) is crucial for optimizing the sensitivity of gravitational wave interferometers like Virgo. In fact, in such gravitational wave detectors even minimal laser power absorption can…
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…
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…
The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors have completed their initial upgrade phase and will enter the first observing run in late 2015, with detector sensitivity expected to improve in future runs.…
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 develop a steady-state analytical and numerical model of the optical response of power-recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson laser gravitational-wave detectors to thermal focusing in optical substrates. We assume that the thermal distortions…
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…
Interferometric gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO need to be able to measure changes in their arm lengths of order $10^{-18}~$m or smaller. This requires very high laser power in order to raise the signal above shot noise. One…