Abstract
High-reflectivity fused silica mirrors are at the epicentre of today's advanced gravitational wave detectors. In these detectors, the mirrors interact with high power laser beams. As a result of finite absorption in the high reflectivity coatings the mirrors suffer from a variety of thermal effects that impact on the detectors' performance. We propose a model of the Advanced LIGO mirrors that introduces an empirical term to account for the radiative heat transfer between the mirror and its surroundings. The mechanical mode frequency is used as a probe for the overall temperature of the mirror. The thermal transient after power build-up in the optical cavities is used to refine and test the model. The model provides a coating absorption estimate of 1.5-2.0 ppm and estimates that 0.3 to 1.3 ppm of the circulating light is scattered onto the ring heater.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 115001 |
Journal | Classical and Quantum Gravity |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 18 May 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work is supported by the LSC fellows program and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). LIGO was constructed by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation, and operates under Cooperative Agreement No. PHY-0757058.
Funders | Funder number |
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California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
National Science Foundation | PHY-0757058 |
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences | 0757058, 0823459 |
Science and Technology Facilities Council |
Keywords
- coating absorption
- gravitational wave detection
- interferometry
- mechanical mode
- parametric instability
- scattering loss
- thermal modeling