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arXiv:2311.04736 · Optica

Transverse mode control in quantum enhanced interferometers: a review and recommendations for a new generation

A. W. Jones, Ricardo Cabrita, M. Korobko, M. van Beuzekom, Daniel Brown, V. Fafone, Joris V. van Heijningen, A. Rocchi, Mitchell G. Schiworski, Matteo Tacca

Published Dec 21, 2023• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Adaptive optics has made significant advancement over the past decade, becoming the essential technology in a wide variety of applications, particularly in the realm of quantum optics. One key area of impact is gravitational-wave detection, where quantum correlations are distributed over kilometer-long distances by beams with hundreds of kilowatts of optical power. Decades of development were required to develop robust and stable techniques to sense mismatches between the Gaussian beams and the resonators, all while maintaining the quantum correlations. Here we summarize the crucial advancements in transverse mode control required for gravitational-wave detection. As we look towards the advanced designs of future detectors, we highlight key challenges and offer recommendations for the design of these instruments. We conclude the review with a discussion of the broader application of adaptive optics in quantum technologies: communication, computation, imaging, and sensing.

DOI
10.1364/optica.511924

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Adaptive optics has made significant advancement over the past decade, becoming the essential technology in a wide variety of applications, particularly in the realm of quantum optics. One key area of impact is gravitational-wave detection, where quantum correlations are distributed over kilometer-long distances by beams with hundreds of kilowatts of optical power. Decades of development were required to develop robust and stable techniques to sense mismatches between the Gaussian beams and the resonators, all while maintaining the quantum correlations. Here we summarize the crucial advancements in transverse mode control required for gravitational-wave detection. As we look towards the advanced designs of future detectors, we highlight key challenges and offer recommendations for the design of these instruments. We conclude the review with a discussion of the broader application of adaptive optics in quantum technologies: communication, computation, imaging, and sensing.
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The 2015 seminal discovery of gravitational waves (GW) from the collision of the binary black holes has boosted interest to development of a more sensitive next generation gravitational-wave interferometers. As the current Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors are limited by fundamental quantum fluctuations of light in the most of their detection band, the next generation of interferometers must use advanced quantum noise-mitigation methods and quantum non-demolition (QND) techniques to achieve the planned design sensitivity of 10 times better than the current detectors have. In this paper, we attempt to give an overview of some advanced quantum metrology techniques being considered as potential sensitivity boosters for the next generation GW detectors.
The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the scientific community to the point at which quantum behavior of such immense measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The time when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of light is around the corner, and finding ways to reduce it will become a necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity. We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention is paid to the concept of the Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its surmounting.
Advanced gravitational-wave detectors, which have enabled groundbreaking discoveries, are large-scale laser interferometers. They rank among the most sensitive instruments ever conceived, so sensitive that even the minuscule quantum fluctuations of light become a primary limiting factor by introducing quantum noise. In this paper, we provide an overview of various quantum techniques developed to surpass these quantum limits. We demonstrate how these techniques can be interpreted and categorized within a unified framework defined by the fundamental quantum limit, which is determined by the quantum fluctuations of the optical energy stored within the interferometer. This framework not only facilitates comparisons between the ultimate sensitivities achievable by different interferometer configurations but also supports the systematic generation of new configurations that coherently integrate multiple quantum-enhancement techniques. Through further refinement and dedicated experimental efforts, these quantum technologies will pave the way for constructing gravitational-wave detectors with unprecedented sensitivity.
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The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the scientific community to the point at which quantum behavior of such immense measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The time when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of light is around the corner, and finding ways to reduce it will become a necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity. We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention is paid to the concept of the Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its surmounting. 1 ar