Point Absorber Limits to Future Gravitational-Wave Detectors
Name
PhysRevLett.127.241102.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
694.43 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
96d2038c23b4f05fc637e0cf7da6d371
Author(s)
Mavalvala, Nergis
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Citation
Mavalvala, Nergis. 2021. "Point Absorber Limits to Future Gravitational-Wave Detectors." Physical Review Letters, 127 (24).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
High-quality optical resonant cavities require low optical loss, typically on
the scale of parts per million. However, unintended micron-scale contaminants
on the resonator mirrors that absorb the light circulating in the cavity can
deform the surface thermoelastically, and thus increase losses by scattering
light out of the resonant mode. The point absorber effect is a limiting factor
in some high-power cavity experiments, for example, the Advanced LIGO
gravitational wave detector. In this Letter, we present a general approach to
the point absorber effect from first principles and simulate its contribution
to the increased scattering. The achievable circulating power in current and
future gravitational-wave detectors is calculated statistically given different
point absorber configurations. Our formulation is further confirmed
experimentally in comparison with the scattered power in the arm cavity of
Advanced LIGO measured by in-situ photodiodes. The understanding presented here
provides an important tool in the global effort to design future gravitational
wave detectors that support high optical power, and thus reduce quantum noise.
MIT Department
LIGO (Observatory : Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
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Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.127.241102
