The Advanced LIGO Input Optics
Abstract
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 strains caused by passing gravitational waves. The input optics play a significant part in allowing these devices to reach such sensitivities. Residing between the pre-stabilized laser and the main interferometer, the input optics is tasked with preparing the laser beam for interferometry at the sub-attometer level while operating at continuous wave input power levels ranging from 100 mW to 150 W. These extreme operating conditions required every major component to be custom designed. These designs draw heavily on the experience and understanding gained during the operation of Initial LIGO and Enhanced LIGO. In this article we report on how the components of the input optics were designed to meet their stringent requirements and present measurements showing how well they have lived up to their design.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1601.05442,
title = {The Advanced LIGO Input Optics},
author = {Chris Mueller and Muzammil Arain and Giacomo Ciani and Ryan DeRosa and Anamaria Effler and David Feldbaum and Valery Frolov and Paul Fulda and Joseph Gleason and Matthew Heintze and Eleanor King and Keiko Kokeyama and William Korth and Rodica Martin and Adam Mullavey and Jan Poeld and Volker Quetschke and David Reitze and David Tanner and Luke Williams and Guido Mueller},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.05442},
year = {2016}
}