Demonstration of the zero-crossing phasemeter with a LISA test-bed interferometer

Abstract

The laser interferometer space antenna (LISA) is being designed to detect and study in detail gravitational waves from sources throughout the Universe such as massive black hole binaries. The conceptual formulation of the LISA space-borne gravitational wave detector is now well developed. The interferometric measurements between the sciencecraft remain one of the most important technological and scientific design areas for the mission. Our work has concentrated on developing the interferometric technologies to create a LISA-like optical signal and to measure the phase of that signal using commercially available instruments. One of the most important goals of this research is to demonstrate the LISA phase timing and phase reconstruction for a LISA-like fringe signal, in the case of a high fringe rate and a low signal level. We present current results of a test-bed interferometer designed to produce an optical LISA-like fringe signal previously discussed in Jennrich O, Stebbins R T, Bender P L and Pollack S (2001 Class. Quantum Grav. 18 4159–64) and Pollack S E, Jennrich O, Stebbins R T and Bender P (2003 Class. Quantum Grav. 20 S291–00).