arXiv subjects

Lisa Barsotti

Publications and source records attributed to Lisa Barsotti.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Decoherence and degradation of squeezed states in quantum filter cavities

Squeezed states of light have been successfully employed in interferometric gravitational-wave detectors to reduce quantum noise, thus becoming one of the most promising options for extending the astrophysical reach of the generation of detectors currently under construction worldwide. In these advanced instruments, quantum noise will limit sensitivity over the entire detection band. Therefore, to obtain the greatest benefit from squeezing, the injected squeezed state must be filtered using a long-storage-time optical resonator, or "filter cavity", so as to realise a frequency dependent rotation of the squeezed quadrature. Whilst the ultimate performance of a filter cavity is determined by its storage time, several practical decoherence and degradation mechanisms limit the experimentally achievable quantum noise reduction. In this paper we develop an analytical model to explore these mechanisms in detail. As an example, we apply our results to the 16 m filter cavity design currently under consideration for the Advanced LIGO interferometers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Audio-band frequency-dependent squeezing

Quantum vacuum fluctuations impose strict limits on precision displacement measurements, those of interferometric gravitational-wave detectors among them. Introducing squeezed states into an interferometer's readout port can improve the sensitivity of the instrument, leading to richer astrophysical observations. However, optomechanical interactions dictate that the vacuum's squeezed quadrature must rotate by 90 degrees around 50Hz. Here we use a 2-m-long, high-finesse optical resonator to produce frequency-dependent rotation around 1.2kHz. This demonstration of audio-band frequency-dependent squeezing uses technology and methods that are scalable to the required rotation frequency, heralding application of the technique in future gravitational-wave detectors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Observation of Parametric Instability in Advanced LIGO

Parametric instabilities have long been studied as a potentially limiting effect in high-power interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Until now, however, these instabilities have never been observed in a kilometer-scale interferometer. In this work we describe the first observation of parametric instability in an Advanced LIGO detector, and the means by which it has been removed as a barrier to progress.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Resonant Dampers for Parametric Instabilities in Gravitational Wave Detectors

Advanced gravitational wave interferometric detectors will operate at their design sensitivity with nearly 1MW of laser power stored in the arm cavities. Such large power may lead to the uncontrolled growth of acoustic modes in the test masses due to the transfer of optical energy to the mechanical modes of the arm cavity mirrors. These parametric instabilities have the potential of significantly compromising the detector performance and control. Here we present the design of "acoustic mode dampers" that use the piezoelectric effect to reduce the coupling of optical to mechanical energy. Experimental measurements carried on an Advanced LIGO-like test mass shown a 10-fold reduction in the amplitude of several mechanical modes, thus suggesting that this technique can greatly mitigate the impact of parametric instabilities in advanced detectors.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

A Gravitational Wave Detector with Cosmological Reach

Twenty years ago, construction began on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Advanced LIGO, with a factor of ten better design sensitivity than Initial LIGO, will begin taking data this year, and should soon make detections a monthly occurrence. While Advanced LIGO promises to make first detections of gravitational waves from the nearby universe, an additional factor of ten increase in sensitivity would put exciting science targets within reach by providing observations of binary black hole inspirals throughout most of the history of star formation, and high signal to noise observations of nearby events. Design studies for future detectors to date rely on significant technological advances that are futuristic and risky. In this paper we propose a different direction. We resurrect the idea of a using longer arm lengths coupled with largely proven technologies. Since the major noise sources that limit gravitational wave detectors do not scale trivially with the length of the detector, we study their impact and find that 40~km arm lengths are nearly optimal, and can incorporate currently available technologies to detect gravitational wave sources at cosmological distances $(z \gtrsim 7)$.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

Prospects for doubling the range of Advanced LIGO

In the coming years, the gravitational wave community will be optimizing detector performance for a variety of astrophysical sources that make competing demands on the detector sensitivity in different frequency bands. In this paper we describe a number of technologies that are being developed as anticipated upgrades to the Advanced LIGO detector, and quantify the potential sensitivity improvement they offer. Specifically, we consider squeezed light injection for reduction of quantum noise, detector design and materials changes which reduce thermal noise, and mirrors with significantly increased mass. We explore how each of these technologies impacts the detection of the most promising gravitational wave sources, and suggest an effective progression of upgrades which culminate in a factor of two broadband sensitivity improvement.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Effect of squeezing on parameter estimation of gravitational waves emitted by compact binary systems

The LIGO gravitational wave (GW) detectors will begin collecting data in 2015, with Virgo following shortly after. The use of squeezing has been proposed as a way to reduce the quantum noise without increasing the laser power, and has been successfully tested at one of the LIGO sites and at GEO in Germany. When used in Advanced LIGO without a filter cavity, the squeezer improves the performances of detectors above about 100 Hz, at the cost of a higher noise floor in the low frequency regime. Frequency-dependent squeezing, on the other hand, will lower the noise floor throughout the entire band. Squeezing technology will have a twofold impact: it will change the number of expected detections and it will impact the quality of parameter estimation for the detected signals. In this work we consider three different GW detector networks, each utilizing a different type of squeezer, all corresponding to plausible implementations. Using LALInference, a powerful Monte Carlo parameter estimation algorithm, we study how each of these networks estimates the parameters of GW signals emitted by compact binary systems, and compare the results with a baseline advanced LIGO-Virgo network. We find that, even in its simplest implementation, squeezing has a large positive impact: the sky error area of detected signals will shrink by about 30% on average, increasing the chances of finding an electromagnetic counterpart to the GW detection. Similarly, we find that the measurability of tidal deformability parameters for neutron stars in binaries increases by about 30%, which could aid in determining the equation of state of neutron stars. The degradation in the measurement of the chirp mass, as a result of the higher low-frequency noise, is shown to be negligible when compared to systematic errors.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Angular control of optical cavities in a radiation pressure dominated regime: the Enhanced LIGO case

We describe the angular sensing and control of the 4 km detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). The culmination of first generation LIGO detectors, Enhanced LIGO operated between 2009 and 2010 with about 40 kW of laser power in the arm cavities. In this regime, radiation pressure effects are significant and induce instabilities in the angular opto-mechanical transfer functions. Here we present and motivate the angular sensing and control (ASC) design in this extreme case and present the results of its implementation in Enhanced LIGO. Highlights of the ASC performance are: successful control of opto-mechanical torsional modes, relative mirror motions of 1x10^{-7} rad rms, and limited impact on in-band strain sensitivity.

physics.ins-det↗