Laser parameters requirement for third-generation ground-based gravitational wave detection

Abstract

Gravitational waves (GWs), predicted by the general relativity of Albert Einstein, are ripples in space-time caused by massive accelerating objects. Since the first direct observation of GWs in 2015, more and more binary black hole mergers and neutron star merger were detected by the laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo interferometric detector. The construction of the third-generation (3G) gravitational wave detector(GWD), whose sensitivity is ten times that of the second-generation (2G) GWD (Advanced LIGO and Virgo), can not only push the gravitational wave astronomy towards the edge of the observable universe, but also test the fundamental laws of physics and study the nature of matter. By utilizing the abandoned underground mines, Shanxi university proposes to construct a 3G ground-based gravitational wave detector with an arm length of 10 km and a strain sensitivity of 10<sup>–24</sup> Hz<sup>–1/2</sup>, improving the location accuracy of wave source by participating in the global GWD network. The construction of 3G GWD has many technical challenges, including ultrahigh large-scale vacuum system, ultrastable seismic isolation system, high-precision control system, high-quality laser and quantum source. Theoretically, the sensitivity of GWD with equal arm length is not limited by the laser source noise. However, in the actual scenario, the sensitivity is limited by the differences in arm length, arm cavity linewidth, arm reflectivity, arm mass, arm power, and the laser parameters. In this work, based on the design sensitivity (10<sup>–24</sup> Hz<sup>–1/2</sup>) of dual-recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometer, we propose the requirements for an ultra low-noise laser, including wavelength, amplitude noise, frequency noise, beam pointing noise and fundamental mode purity. The results show that in order to achieve the design sensitivity at the Fourier frequency of 100 Hz, the wavelength of the laser source should be 1.5 μm, the output power should be higher than 200 W, the amplitude noise should be better than 10<sup>–8</sup> Hz<sup>–1/2</sup>, and the frequency noise should be better than 100 Hz/Hz<sup>1/2</sup>. To achieve the sensitivity of 10<sup>–24</sup> Hz<sup>–1/2</sup> at 10 Hz analysis frequency, the requirements for the amplitude and frequency noise of the laser source are much more stringent. This study lays a solid foundation for the analysis of laser source noise and the decomposition of interferometer indexes .