Abstract
Optical rigidity will play an important role in future generations of gravitational wave (GW) interferometers which employ high laser power in order to reach and exceed the standard quantum limit. Several experiments have demonstrated the optical spring effect for very low weight mirror masses. In this paper we extend this to a mass and frequency regime more directly applicable to GW detectors. Using a end mirror mass we demonstrate an optical spring resonant at and a stiffness of 9.4 ×105 N m−1. The to mass regime may also be useful for the application as a readout mirror for optical bar or optical lever configurations.
Highlights
The first generation of laser-interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors (LIGO [1], Virgo [2], GEO 600 [3] and Tama [4]) have successfully demonstrated the long-term operation km-scale Michelson interferometers, delievering observational data of unpreceeded strain sensitivity
Our experiments extend the range in which optical springs have been demonstrated for Fabry–Pérot cavities, from 1 g [21] up to a mass range of 100 g and to a 10 m prototypesystem scale, bringing it one step closer to application in future GW observatories
If we consider our experimental parameters, the expected arm cavity (AC) power build up is around 2 kW, providing a resonant radiation pressure force on the cavity end mirror FRP » 13 mN. It follows that the maximum optical spring strength obtained for a cavity detuning of dg » 0.29 is K = 9.4 ́ 105 N m-1 with a corresponding optical spring frequency of fopt = 496 Hz
Summary
The first generation of laser-interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors (LIGO [1], Virgo [2], GEO 600 [3] and Tama [4]) have successfully demonstrated the long-term operation km-scale Michelson interferometers, delievering observational data of unpreceeded strain sensitivity. The generation of GW detectors is currently under construction and commissioning (advanced LIGO [5], GEO–HF [6], KAGRA [7] and advanced Virgo [8]) and is expected to achieve about a ten-fold increased sensitivity. Detuned signal recycling [11] produces an optical spring, and the resulting change to the opto–mechanical dynamics of the interferometer provides one example of how the SQL may be beaten [12]. Other interferometer topologies based on the principle of optical rigidity include optical bar [14], optical lever [15] and local readout configurations [16] All of these techniques are currently under consideration [17, 18] for upgrades of Advanced LIGO or third generation observatories such as ET [19, 20]. Our experiments extend the range in which optical springs have been demonstrated for Fabry–Pérot cavities, from 1 g [21] up to a mass range of 100 g and to a 10 m prototypesystem scale, bringing it one step closer to application in future GW observatories
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