Squeezing on H1
We propose to inject squeezed light into the Hanford 4 km interferometer to improve its sensitivity by 3 dB in the frequency band dominated by shot noise. At the LIGO Hanford Observatory there are about six months between the end of the 6^{th} science run and the beginning of installation for advanced LIGO. We propose to use this time frame to install a squeezed light source and validate the concept of gravitational wave detection below the standard quantum limit.
Advanced LIGO demands very high power levels in the long Michelson arms. Close to a mega Watt of laser light has to be stored in the arm cavities in order to reach the sensitivity goal. This will be challenging. Optical waveform distortion due to absorption and the excitation of parasitic instabilities both have the risk to limit the maximum arm cavity power. Using non-classical light states have the potential to achieve similar performance with less power. We see this proposal as an important step to mitigate the technical risk associated with high power operations in advanced LIGO.
The technology to generate squeezed vacuum states has progressed quickly over the past few years. A suitable light source which generates squeezing down to 10 Hz has recently been demonstrated. Interferometric detectors have been squeezed before—however, no experiment was performed at frequencies or sensitivities directly relevant for future detectors.
People involved
Ping Koy Lam^3, Nergis Mavalvala^2, David McClelland^3, Roman Schnabel^4, Daniel Sigg^1, Henning Vahlbruch^4 and Stan Whitcomb^5 (so far)
- LIGO Hanford Observatory, Richland, WA
- LIGO Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Gravitational Physics Group, Australian National University
- Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Leibniz Universität Hannover
- LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
H1 Proposal
H1 Proposal (revision A ) |
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Presentation at the LIGO-VIRGO meeting (March 2008) |
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Slides from the LIGO-VIRGO meeting (June 2008) |
G080334-00 and G080335-00 |
List of technical issues |
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Optical layout |
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Electronics setup |
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Preliminary Budget |
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Preliminary Schedule |
A review team has been formed:
Yanbei Chen
Eric Gustafson
Seiji Kawamura
Guido Mueller
Fred Raab (chair)
Alan Weinstein
Rai Weiss
Mike Zucker
Meetings
Kick-off meeting on 4/1/2008 |
Agenda and Meeting Notes |
Review kick-off meeting on 4/23/2008 |
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Meeting on 5/7/2008 |
Agenda and Meeting Notes |
Meeting on 6/3/2008 |
Agenda and Meeting Notes |
Meeting on 7/2/2008 |
Agenda and Meeting Notes |
Meeting on 7/23/2008 |
discuss budget and schedule |
Meeting on 8/6/2008 |
discuss proposal text |
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A mail list has been set up here. This mail list is dedicated to topics about the LIGO squeezer experiment. All old emails are available in the archive. This email list is open to any member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
Supporting Material
TBD
