Pushing cavities to the edge for future gravitational wave detectors

Haoyu Wang, Miguel Dovale-Alvarez, Christopher Collins, Daniel David Brown, Mengyao Wang, Conor M. Mow-Lowry, Sen Han, Andreas Freise

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Near-unstable cavities have been proposed as an enabling technology for future gravitational wave detectors, as their compact structure and large beam spot can reduce the thermal noise floor of the interferometer. These cavities operate close to the edge of geometrical stability, and may be driven into instability via small cavity length perturbations or mirror surface distortions. They are at risk of suffering from problems such as high optical scattering loss and Gaussian mode degeneracy. The well-defined Gaussian beams can also be distorted through their interaction with the small imperfections of the mirror surfaces. These issues have an adverse impact on the detector sensitivity and controllability. In this article an experiment is designed and has been built to investigate the technical hurdles associated with marginally cavities. A near-unstable table-top cavity is built and accurate control achieved through length and alignment control systems. This experiment provides an account of the behavior of the near-unstable cavity. Additionally, the experiment provides an insight into how far cavity parameters can be pushed towards geometrical instability.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationOptical Precision Manufacturing, Testing, and Applications
EditorsJohn W. McBride, Xuejun Zhang, Sen Han, JiuBin Tan
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Electronic)9781510623361
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2018
Externally publishedYes
EventInternational Symposium on Optoelectronic Technology and Application 2018: Optical Precision Manufacturing, Testing, and Applications, OTA 2018 - Beijing, China
Duration: 22 May 201824 May 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume10847
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

ConferenceInternational Symposium on Optoelectronic Technology and Application 2018: Optical Precision Manufacturing, Testing, and Applications, OTA 2018
Country/TerritoryChina
CityBeijing
Period22/05/1824/05/18

Keywords

  • gravitational wave detection
  • laser interferometer
  • optical cavity
  • stable resonator

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Pushing cavities to the edge for future gravitational wave detectors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this