Interferometric Detectors Research Articles

Analysis of the Principle of Gravitational Wave Detection and State- of-art Results

Over one hundred years after Einstein’s first theoretical prediction of gravitational waves, the recent observations of gravitational waves by interferometric detectors have risen excitement in the science community with the light from a new era of directly observing perturbations in spacetime itself. With the large quantity of new research in the gravitational wave detection area, this study provides a brief summary of the current achievements of the field. This paper first gives a short introduction of the field, then offers a summarize of the theories and principles of gravitational wave detection. Afterwards, it demonstrates modern detectors using the advanced LIGO detectors as an example, and presents its groundbreaking results, signal GW150914 and GW151226. Finally, the limitations and prospects of current observations are proposed. By summarizing fundamental concepts and major achievements in the field of gravitational wave detection, it is hoped to provide future students and researchers with a basic idea of the field and thus promote new ideas and advancements in the rising era of gravitational astronomy.

Black hole spectroscopy with ground-based atom interferometer and space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors

Gravitational wave (GW) detection allows us to test general relativity in entirely new regimes. A prominent role takes the detection of quasi-normal modes (QNMs), which are emitted after the merger of a binary black hole (BBH) when the highly distorted remnant emits GWs to become a regular Kerr black hole (BH). The BH uniqueness theorems of Kerr black hole solutions in general relativity imply that the frequencies and damping times of QNMs are determined solely by the mass and spin of the remnant BH. Therefore, detecting QNMs offers a unique way to probe the nature of the remnant BH and to test general relativity. We study the detection of a merging BBH in the intermediate-mass range, where the inspiral–merger phase is detected by space-based laser interferometer detectors TianQin and LISA, while the ringdown is detected by the ground-based atom interferometer (AI) observatory AION. The analysis of the ringdown is done using the regular broadband mode of AI detectors as well as the resonant mode optimizing it to the frequencies of the QNMs predicted from the inspiral–merger phase. We find that the regular broadband mode allows constraining the parameters of the BBH with relative errors of the order 10−1 and below from the ringdown. Moreover, for a variety of systems considered, the frequencies and the damping times of the QNMs can be determined with relative errors below 0.1 and 0.2, respectively. We further find that using the resonant mode can improve the parameter estimation for the BBH from the ringdown by a factor of up to three. Utilizing the resonant mode significantly limits the detection of the frequency of the QNMs but improves the detection error of the damping times by around two orders of magnitude.

Measuring neutron star radius with second and third generation gravitational wave detector networks

Abstract The next generation of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors will observe mergers of black holes and neutron stars throughout cosmic time. A large number of the binary neutron star merger events will be observed with extreme high fidelity, and will provide stringent constraints on the equation of state of nuclear matter. In this paper, we investigate the systematic improvement in the measurability of the equation of state with increase in detector sensitivity by combining constraints obtained on the radius of a $1.4 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ neutron star from a simulated source population. Since the measurability of the equation of state depends on its stiffness, we consider a range of realistic equations of state that span the current observational constraints. We show that a single 40km Cosmic Explorer detector can pin down the neutron star radius for a soft, medium and stiff equation of state to an accuracy of 10m within a decade, whereas the current generation of ground-based detectors like the Advanced LIGO-Virgo network would take $\mathcal{O}(10^5)$ years to do so for a soft equation of state. 

Dual-Wavelength Interferometric Detection Technology for Wind and Temperature Fields in the Martian Middle and Upper Atmosphere Based on LCTF

Dual-Wavelength Interferometric Detection Technology for Wind and Temperature Fields in the Martian Middle and Upper Atmosphere Based on LCTF

Experimental demonstration of frequency- downconverted arm-length stabilization for a future upgraded gravitational wave detector.

Ground-based laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors (GWDs) consist of multiple optical cavity systems whose lengths need to be interferometrically controlled. An arm-length stabilization (ALS) system has played an important role in bringing these interferometers into an operational state and enhancing their duty cycle. The sensitivity of these detectors can be improved if the thermal noise of their test mass mirror coatings is reduced. Crystalline AlGaAs coatings are a promising candidate for this. However, the current ALS system with a frequency-doubled 532 nm light is no longer an option with AlGaAs coatings because the 532 nm light is absorbed by AlGaAs coatings due to the narrow bandgap of GaAs. Therefore, alternative locking schemes must be developed. In this Letter, we describe an experimental demonstration of a novel ALS scheme, to the best of our knowledge, which is compatible with AlGaAs coatings. This ALS scheme will enable the use of AlGaAs coatings in current and future terrestrial gravitational wave detectors.

Surpassing the Standard Quantum Limit Using an Optical Spring.

Quantum mechanics places noise limits and sensitivity restrictions on physical measurements. The balance between unwanted backaction and the precision of optical measurements imposes a standard quantum limit (SQL) on interferometric systems. In order to realize a sensitivity below the SQL, it is necessary to leverage a backaction evading measurement technique, reduce thermal noise to below the level of backaction, and exploit cancellations of any excess noise contributions at the detector. Many proof of principle experiments have been performed, but only recently has an experiment achieved sensitivity below the SQL. In this work, we extend that initial demonstration and realize sub-SQL sensitivity nearly two times better than previous measurements, and with an architecture applicable to interferometric gravitational wave detectors. In fact, this technique is directly applicable to Advanced LIGO, which could observe similar effects with a detuned signal recycling cavity. We measure a total sensitivity below the SQL by 2.8dB, corresponding to a reduction in the noise power by 72±5.1% below the quantum limit. Through the use of a detuned cavity and the optical spring effect, this noise reduction is tunable, allowing us to choose the desired range of frequencies that fall below the SQL. This result demonstrates access to sensitivities well below the SQL at frequencies applicable to LIGO, with the potential to extend the reach of gravitational wave detectors further into the Universe.

Signal generation in dynamic interferometric displacement detection.

Laser interferometry is a well-established and widely used technique for precise displacement measurements. In a non-contact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM), it facilitates the force measurement by recording the periodic displacement of an oscillating microcantilever. To understand signal generation in a NC-AFM-based Michelson-type interferometer, we evaluate the non-linear response of the interferometer to the harmonic displacement of the cantilever in the time domain. As the interferometer signal is limited in amplitude because of the spatial periodicity of the interferometer light field, an increasing cantilever oscillation amplitude creates an output signal with an increasingly complex temporal structure. By the fit of a model to the measured time-domain signal, all parameters governing the interferometric displacement signal can precisely be determined. It is demonstrated, that such an analysis specifically allows for the calibration of the cantilever oscillation amplitude with 2% accuracy.

Resolving plasmon-mediated high-order multiphoton excitation pathways in dolmen nanostructures using ultrafast nonlinear optical interferometry.

The multiphoton excitation pathways of plasmonic nanorod assemblies are described. By using dolmen structures formed from the directed assembly of three gold nanorods, plasmon-mediated three-photon excitation is resolved. These high-order multiphoton excitation channels were accessed by resonantly exciting a hybrid mode of the dolmen structure that was resonant with the 800-nm carrier wavelength of an ultrafast laser system. Rotation of the exciting field polarization to a non-resonant configuration did not generate third-order responses. Hence, the multiphoton excitation and resultant non-equilibrium electron distributions were generated by structure- and mode-selective excitation. Correlation between high-order and resonant plasmon excitation was achieved through sub-cycle time-resolved interferometric detection of incoherent nonlinear emission signals. The results illustrate the advantages of nonlinear optical interferometry and Fourier analysis for distinguishing plasmon-mediated processes from those that do not require plasmon excitation.

Imprints of massive black-hole binaries on neighbouring decihertz gravitational-wave sources

The most massive black holes in our Universe form binaries at the centre of merging galaxies. The recent evidence for a gravitational-wave (GW) background from pulsar timing may constitute the first observation that these supermassive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs) merge. Yet, the most massive SMBHBs are out of reach of interferometric GW detectors and are exceedingly difficult to resolve individually with pulsar timing. These limitations call for unexplored strategies to detect individual SMBHBs in the uncharted frequency band ≲10−5 Hz to establish their abundance and decipher the coevolution with their host galaxies. Here we show that SMBHBs imprint detectable long-term modulations on GWs from stellar-mass binaries residing in the same galaxy at a distance d ≲ 1 kpc. We determine that proposed decihertz GW interferometers sensitive to numerous stellar-mass binaries could uncover modulations from ~O(10−1–104) SMBHBs with masses ~O(107–108) M⊙out to redshift z ≈ 3.5. This offers a unique opportunity to map the population of SMBHBs through cosmic time, which might remain inaccessible otherwise.

Comparative analysis of electrophoresis and interferometric optical detection method for molecular weight determination of proteins

Analytical detection methods play a pivotal role in scientific research, enabling the identification and quantification of specific analytes in various disciplines. This scientific report aims to compare two very different methodologies for determining the Molecular Mass (MM, also known as Molecular Weight, MW) of proteins: electrophoresis gel and the Interferometric Optical Detection Method (IODM). For this purpose, several proteins with different MM were selected.The electrophoresis technique was employed to validate the structure and MM of different parts or fragments of the Matrix Metallopeptidase 9 antibody (anti-MMP9), antibody against S100 calcium binding protein A6 (anti-S100A6) and Cystatin S4 antibody (anti-CST4) by examining the presence of bands with expected sizes. The IODM was applied to study the above-mentioned proteins (part of the antibodies) together with the protein G, as a reference to correlate the MM and protein sizes with the measured signal.We report the evidence of IODM as a competitive analytical approach for the determination of the MM of proteins for the first time. This innovative method allows for accurate MM determination using minimal sample volumes and concentrations, employing a simple experimental procedure that eliminates the requirement for protein denaturation.

Multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy of wine using synchronous excitation/emission matrices and time-resolved fluorescence interferometric detection

Wines are complex mixtures of chemical compounds with broad and overlapping absorption and emission spectral features in the UV and visible spectral regions, making them challenging to study with conventional optical spectroscopic techniques. Multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopies correlate fluorescence spectra with other degrees of freedom, and have proven useful for studying complex molecular systems, offering a pathway for the analysis of wines utilising their inherent fluorescence. Here we employ steady-state excitation-emission matrix (EEM) and time-resolved fluorescence spectral measurements to investigate representative commercial white and red wine samples and a fluorescent ‘model’ wine base. Combining these multidimensional measurement methods provides information on the emission characteristics of the components that wines contain. This investigation illustrates the potential for multidimensional fluorescence techniques as diagnostic tools for the wine industry.

Mid-Infrared Spectrometer Based on Tunable Photoresponses in Pdse2

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) photodetection is important for various applications, including biomedical diagnostics, security, chemical identification, and free-spacing optical communications. However, conventional “photon” mid-IR photodetectors require liquid nitrogen cooling (i.e., MCT). Furthermore, acquiring mid-IR spectra usually involves a complex and expensive Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer, a tabletop instrument consisting of a meter-long interferometer and MCT detectors, which is not suitable for mobile and compact device applications. In this work, we present tunable photoresponsivity in the mid-IR wavelength in palladium diselenide (PdSe2) – molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) heterostructure field-effect transistors (FETs), operating at room temperature. Furthermore, we applied a tunable membrane cavity to modulate the Fabry–Pérot resonance to modulate the absorption spectrum of the device layer. We used a robust polyetherimide (PEI) membrane with CVD-grown graphene to electrically tune the membrane structure. For the next step, we will integrate the PdSe2-based photodetector and tunable membrane to increase detection sensitivity and spectrum tunability to realize the ‘learning’-based spectroscopy.

Tomographic Reconstruction Of Combustion Flow Fields From Density Measurements Based On Physics-Informed Neural Networks

Achieving stable, low-emission combustion with green hydrogen is crucial for climate-neutral ground-based power generation in turbomachinery. Lean combustion modes with green hydrogen reduce fuel consumption but increase unsteadiness. Thus, multimodal detection techniques for parameters like density and flow velocity are essential to understand the interconnected behavior of combustion, advection velocity and noise production. We previously introduced a high-speed camera-based laser interferometric vibrometer system to detect thermoacoustic oscillations and record advection velocities, using interferometric detection of density fluctuations and correlation-based velocity estimation. However, this method only estimates integral velocity fields, necessitating the solution of the inverse problem. This is relying on iterative optimization, which is computationally expensive and struggles with high dimensional, noisy or limited data. Physics-Informed Neural Networks offer an innovative and efficient approach to these problems, combining neural network flexibility with physical law constraints to unravel intricate cause-effect relationships. Here an approach for reconstructing local velocity fields from a single projection velocity calculated from integral density data is presented. Using a U-net and model assumptions for coupling local and integral velocity fields, the training minimizes errors between measured integral input fields and the predicted local field integrals. The comparison of measured local velocity and the network prediction achieved a relative mean squared error of 3 %.

Pathlength-selective, interferometric diffuse correlation spectroscopy (PaLS-iDCS).

Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) is an optical method that offers non-invasive assessment of blood flow in tissue through the analysis of intensity fluctuations in diffusely backscattered coherent light. The non-invasive nature of the technique has enabled several clinical applications for deep tissue blood flow measurements, including cerebral blood flow monitoring as well as tumor blood flow mapping. While a promising technique, in measurement configurations targeting deep tissue hemodynamics, the standard DCS implementations suffer from insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), depth sensitivity, and sampling rate, limiting their utility. In this work, we present an enhanced DCS method called pathlength-selective, interferometric DCS (PaLS-iDCS), which improves upon both the sensitivity of the measurement to deep tissue hemodynamics and the SNR of the measurement using pathlength-specific coherent gain. Through interferometric detection, PaLS-iDCS can provide time-of-flight (ToF) specific blood flow information without the use of expensive time-tagging electronics and low-jitter detectors. The new technique is compared to time-domain DCS (TD-DCS), another enhanced DCS method able to resolve photon ToF in tissue, through Monte Carlo simulation, phantom experiments, and human subject measurements. PaLS-iDCS consistently demonstrates improvements in SNR (>2x) for similar measurement conditions (same photon ToF), and the SNR improvements allow for measurements at extended photon ToFs, which have increased sensitivity to deep tissue hemodynamics (~50% increase). Further, like TD-DCS, PaLS-iDCS allows direct estimation of tissue optical properties from the sampled ToF distribution without the need for a separate spectroscopic measurement. This method offers a relatively straightforward way to allow DCS systems to make robust measurements of blood flow with greatly enhanced sensitivity to deep tissue hemodynamics, enabling further applications of this non-invasive technology.

Can a satellite dodge space debris?

Can a satellite dodge a collision with untracked orbiting debris? Can a satellite dodge collision with a tracked object, making only the avoidance manœuvers actually required to avoid collision, despite the uncertainties of predicted conjunctions? Satellite-borne radar may distinguish actual collision threats from the much greater number of near misses because an object on a collision course has constant bearing, which may be determined by interferometric detection of the radar return. A large constellation of such radars may enable the determination of the ephemerides of all cm-sized debris in LEO.

Three-Dimensional Profile Reconstruction and Internal Defect Detection of Silicon Wafers Using Cascaded Fiber Optic Fabry–Pérot Interferometer and Leaky Field Detection Technologies

Abstract Wafer quality control is one of the important processes to improve the yield rate of semiconductor products. Profile quality and defects in the wafer are two key factors that should be taken into consideration. In this research, we introduce a method that measures the profile of the upper surface and the thickness of the wafer at the same time using an optical fiber cascaded Fabry–Pérot interferometer working at wavelength of 1550 nm. Therefore, the 3D profile of the wafer can be reconstructed directly. Testing results show that both accuracy and precision of the Fabry–Pérot interferometer are within a nanometer scale. Defects, especially those embedded inside the wafer, will be detected by monitoring the leaky field with treating wafers as slab waveguides. With the leaky field detection, defects on the lower surface of the wafer were successfully detected by monitoring the leaky field above the upper surface of the wafer. Compared with traditional methods such as radiographic testing or computed tomography testing, the proposed methods provide a cost-effective alternative for wafer quality evaluation.

Study of a cubic cavity resonator for gravitational waves detection in the microwave frequency range

The direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs) of frequencies above MHz has recently received considerable attention. In this work, we present a precise study of the reach of a cubic cavity resonator to GWs in the microwave range, using for the first time tools allowing to perform realistic simulations. Concretely, the boundary integral—resonant mode expansion (BI-RME) 3D method, which allows us to obtain not only the detected power but also the detected voltage (magnitude and phase), is used here. After analyzing three cubic cavities for different frequencies and working simultaneously with three different degenerate modes at each cavity, we conclude that the sensitivity of the experiment is strongly dependent on the polarization and incidence angle of the GW. The presented experiment can reach sensitivities up to 1×10−19 at 100 MHz, 2×10−20 at 1 GHz, and 6×10−19 at 10 GHz for optimal angles and polarizations, and where in all cases we assumed an integration time of Δt=1 ms. These results provide a strong case for further developing the use of cavities to detect GWs. Moreover, the possibility of analyzing the detected voltage (magnitude and phase) opens a new interferometric detection scheme based on the combination of the detected signals from multiple cavities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Exploring the spin of ultralight dark matter with gravitational wave detectors

We propose a novel method for distinguishing the spin of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) using interferometric gravitational wave detectors. ULDM can be a bosonic field of spin-0, 1, or 2, and each induces distinctive signatures in signals. We find that the finite-time traveling effect causes a dominant signal for spin-0 and spin-1 ULDM, but not for spin-2. By using overlap reduction functions (ORF) of multiple detectors, we can differentiate between the spins of ULDM. Furthermore, we point out that the current constraint on the coupling constant of spin-1 ULDM to baryons becomes 30 times weaker when the finite-time light-travel effect on the ORF is taken into account. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Thermal defocus-free Hartmann Wavefront Sensors for monitoring aberrations in Advanced Virgo

Earth-based gravitational waves interferometric detectors are shot-noise limited in the high-frequency region of their sensitivity band. While enhancing the laser input power is the natural solution to improve on the shot noise limit, higher power also increases the optical aberration budget due to the laser absorption in the highly reflective coatings of mirrors, resulting in a drop of the sensitivity of the detector. Advanced Virgo exploits Hartmann Wavefront Sensors (HWSs) to locally measure the absorption-induced optical aberrations by monitoring the optical path length change in the core optics. Despite the very high sensitivity of Hartmann sensors, temperature fluctuations can cause a spurious curvature term to appear in the reconstructed wavefront due to the thermal expansion of the Hartmann plate, that could affect the accuracy of the aberration monitoring. We present the implementation and validation of a control loop to stabilize the Advanced Virgo HWS temperature at the order of ΔT⩽0.01 K, keeping the spurious curvature within the detector’s requirements on wavefront sensing accuracy.

New Generation of Superattenuator for Einstein Telescope: preliminary studies

Seismic noise and local disturbances are dominant noise sources for ground-based gravitational waves detectors in the low frequency region (0.1–10 Hz) limiting their sensitivity and duty cycle. With the introduction of high-performance seismic isolation systems based on mechanical pendula, the 2nd generation laser interferometric detectors have reached the scientific goal of the first direct observation of GW signals thanks to the extension of the detection bandwidth down to 10 Hz. Now, the 3rd generation instrument era is approaching, and the Einstein telescope giant interferometer is becoming a reality with the possibility to install the detector in an underground site where seismic noise is 100 times smaller than on surface. Moreover, new available technologies as well as the experience acquired in operating advanced detectors are key points to further extend the detection bandwidth down to 2 Hz with the possibility to suspend cryogenic payload and then mitigating thermal noise too. Here, we present a preliminary study devoted to improving seismic attenuation performance of the advanced VIRGO superattenuator in the low frequency region of about five orders of magnitude. Particular care has been carried on in analyzing the possibility to improve the vertical attenuation performance with a multi-stage pendulum chain equipped with magnetic anti-springs that is hung to a double inverted pendulum in nested configuration. The feedback control requirements and possible strategies to be adopted for this last element will be presented.