ON THE SENSITIVITY OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE RESONANT BAR DETECTORS

Abstract

Different theoretical estimates of the sensitivity of gravitational wave resonant bar detectors, which have been published in the last decades, are reviewed and discussed. The "classical" cross-section estimate is obtained considering the bar as a classical or quantum oscillator, whose initial thermal state is that of a single oscillator driven by a single external stochastic force. Other theoretical studies computed a much larger cross-section, using a variety of quantum-mechanical arguments. The review of the existing literature shows that there is no well established model for the response of a resonant detector to gravitational waves. The resonant, yet random, nature of the Brownian thermal motion may justify considering the bar response at the fundamental longitudinal eigenfrequency as that of a large number of effective quantum mechanical oscillators. Assuming this hypothesis, quantum coherence effects, as first suggested by Weber, lead to a much larger cross-section than that "classically" predicted. The reduction of this amplification due to thermal noise itself is also computed.