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Compact Michelson Interferometers with Subpicometer Sensitivity

Jiri Smetana, Rebecca Walters, Sophie Bauchinger, Amit Singh Ubhi, Sam Cooper, David Hoyland, Richard Abbott, Christoph Baune, Peter Fritchel, Oliver Gerberding, Semjon Köhnke, Haixing Miao, Sebastian Rode, and Denis Martynov
Phys. Rev. Applied 18, 034040 – Published 15 September 2022
Physics logo See synopsis: Mini Interferometers Offer Impressive Sensitivity

Abstract

The network of interferometric gravitational-wave observatories has successfully detected tens of astrophysical signals since 2015. In this paper, we experimentally investigate compact sensors that have the potential to improve the sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors to intermediate-mass black holes. We use only commercial components, such as sensing heads and lasers, to assemble the setup and demonstrate its subpicometer precision. The setup consists of a pair of Michelson interferometers that use deep frequency modulation techniques to obtain a linear, relative displacement readout over multiple interference fringes. We implement a laser-frequency stabilization scheme to achieve a sensitivity of 0.3pm/Hz above 0.1 Hz. The device has also the potential to improve other experiments, such as torsion balances and commercial seismometers.

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  • Received 22 February 2022
  • Revised 13 May 2022
  • Accepted 5 July 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.18.034040

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsAtomic, Molecular & OpticalCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

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Mini Interferometers Offer Impressive Sensitivity

Published 15 September 2022

A sensor containing thumbnail-sized interferometers might help astronomers detect gravitational waves emitted from certain black hole mergers.

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Authors & Affiliations

Jiri Smetana1,*, Rebecca Walters1, Sophie Bauchinger1, Amit Singh Ubhi1, Sam Cooper1, David Hoyland1, Richard Abbott2, Christoph Baune3, Peter Fritchel4, Oliver Gerberding5, Semjon Köhnke3, Haixing Miao1,6, Sebastian Rode3, and Denis Martynov1

  • 1Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
  • 2LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
  • 3SmarAct Metrology GmbH & Co. KG, Rohdenweg 4, Oldenburg 26135, Germany
  • 4LIGO Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
  • 5Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, Hamburg D-22761, Germany
  • 6Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

  • *gsmetana@star.sr.bham.ac.uk

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Vol. 18, Iss. 3 — September 2022

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