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Laser & Photonics Review

Advanced interferometry, quantum optics and optomechanics in gravitational wave detectors

David E. McClelland, N. Mavalvala, Y. Chen, Roman Schnabel

Published Mar 14, 2011• 78 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Currently operating laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors are limited by quantum noise above a few hundred Hertz. Detectors that will come on line in the next decade are predicted to be limited by quantum noise over their entire useful frequency band (from 10 Hz to 10 kHz). Further sensitivity improvements will, therefore, rely on using quantum optical techniques such as squeezed state injection and quantum non‐demolition, which will, in turn, drive these massive mechanical systems into quantum states. This article reviews the principles behind these optical and quantum optical techniques and progress toward there realization.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.201000034

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Abstract Currently operating laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors are limited by quantum noise above a few hundred Hertz. Detectors that will come on line in the next decade are predicted to be limited by quantum noise over their entire useful frequency band (from 10 Hz to 10 kHz). Further sensitivity improvements will, therefore, rely on using quantum optical techniques such as squeezed state injection and quantum non‐demolition, which will, in turn, drive these massive mechanical systems into quantum states. This article reviews the principles behind these optical and quantum optical techniques and progress toward there realization.
Quantum fluctuation of light limits the sensitivity of advanced laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. It is one of the principal obstacles on the way towards the next-generation gravitational-wave observatories. The envisioned significant improvement of the detector sensitivity requires using quantum non-demolition measurement and back-action evasion techniques, which allow us to circumvent the sensitivity limit imposed by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In our previous review article (Danilishin and Khalili in Living Rev Relativ 15:5, 2012 ), we laid down the basic principles of quantum measurement theory and provided the framework for analysing the quantum noise of interferometers. The scope of this paper is to review novel techniques for quantum noise suppression proposed in the recent years and put them in the same framework. Our delineation of interferometry schemes and topologies is intended as an aid in the process of selecting the design for the next-generation gravitational-wave observatories.
The worldwide network of laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors is currently in an upgrade phase and will most likely detect gravitational waves within the next few years. Their strain sensitivity will be limited by photon shot noise over a large frequency band. A measurement beyond the shot noise level has already been accomplished via injecting squeezed vacuum states of light into the interferometers. In this proceeding, I review the current status in developements for the next-generation squeezed-light sources for future gravitational-wave detectors. A newly designed doubly-resonant squeezed light source is discussed, as well as squeezed light generated at the wavelengths of 1550 nm and 532 nm. Furthermore, high­ efficiency second harmonic generation of laser light for gravitational wave detectors will be presented. The injection of squeezed light as a key technology is well on schedule for improving the sensitivity of future gravitational-wave detectors.
Interferometric gravitational wave detectors (such as advanced LIGO) employ high-power solid-state lasers to maximize their detection sensitivity and hence their reach into the universe. These sophisticated light sources are ultra-stabilized with regard to output power, emission frequency and beam geometry; this is crucial to obtain low detector noise. However, even when all laser noise is reduced as far as technically possible, unavoidable quantum noise of the laser still remains. This is a consequence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the basis of quantum mechanics: in this case, it is fundamentally impossible to simultaneously reduce both the phase noise and the amplitude noise of a laser to arbitrarily low levels. This fact manifests in the detector noise budget as two distinct noise sources—photon shot noise and quantum radiation pressure noise—which together form a lower boundary for current-day gravitational wave detector sensitivities, the standard quantum limit of interferometry. To overcome this limit, various techniques are being proposed, among them different uses of non-classical light and alternative interferometer topologies. This article explains how quantum noise enters and manifests in an interferometric gravitational wave detector, and gives an overview of some of the schemes proposed to overcome this seemingly fundamental limitation, all aimed at the goal of higher gravitational wave event detection rates. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy’.
Second generation ground-based gravitational wave detectors, scheduled to be operating by the middle of this decade, will be limited in sensitivity over much of their detection range by optical quantum noise. As they will be operating at power levels close to the tolerance of the optical components, significant further improvement in sensitivity will require the use of quantum optical techniques such as the injection of squeezed states. In this paper we briefly review squeezing and plans for its implementation into advanced gravitational wave detectors.
Gravitational waves manifest as a time varying straining of space: they arise from the accelerating motions of large bodies of mass and propagate across the universe at the speed of light as ripples in the fabric of space-time, a fleetingly weak effect so far eluding direct detection. The detection of gravitation waves is expected to yield a rich vein to observational astronomy, complementing existing electromagnetic surveys and revealing a hitherto unexplored range of phenomena. First generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors, notably Enhanced LIGO, achieved strain sensitivities of one part in ten to power twenty-one per square-root-Hertz at 100 Hz with an expected detection rate of 2-3 events per year. Commissioning of a new generation of Advanced LIGO interferometric detectors has concluded recently with a resultant ten-fold sensitivity improvement. Overall their potential event detection space has increased by a factor of 1000. The quantum nature of light within these detectors now limits their sensitivity over most of their frequency range. This quantum noise limit is driven by the vacuum quadrature fluctuations propagated through their open detection ports and represents a fundamental noise floor to their strain sensitivity. This thesis addresses two distinct approaches to quantum noise improvement for future upgrades to advanced detectors. The first addresses the issue of quantum noise by adopting a quantum non-demolition approach to detector readout variables, the so-called `speed-meter’ design. Such a modified instrument samples test mass momentum, a quantity for which time separated measurements commute and are therefore not bound by Heisenberg-like limits. A novel polarisation-folded sloshing cavity type speed-meter is proposed where readout fields are stored and delayed in the orthogonal polarisation of the interferometer’s arms cavities. Here frequency dependence is selected to cancel position like measurements so that only test mass momentum information remains. A quantum noise propagation model is developed and a sensitivity performance is demonstrated that beats the standard quantum limit below 100 Hz over a broad range of frequencies. A second approach to achieve quantum noise enhancement in advanced detectors involves injection of quadrature-squeezed states in the place of vacuum. This dissertation details the development of a prototype squeezed vacuum source suitable to the demanding enhancement requirements for an Advanced LIGO squeezing installation. The construction of a doubly resonant, bow-tie cavity source is presented. This employs a novel monolithic all-glass cavity construction and is vacuum compatible. This design demonstrates the viability of building a cavity using optical contacting as a construction technique for attaching mounting prisms to highly polished fused-silica breadboards. Such a design can be expected to have excellent length noise stability, provide low intrinsic phase noise and would be suitable to mount on seismic isolation stages within the LIGO vacuum envelope. Further, the travelling wave cavity design should provide excellent 50 dB intrinsic backscatter isolation. We demonstrate the first operation of such a complex non-linear device under vacuum, producing 8.6 dB of measured vacuum squeezing down to 10 Hz across the advanced LIGO ‘audio-band’ detection range.
The quantum noise of the light field is a fundamental noise source in interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Injected squeezed light is capable of reducing the quantum noise contribution to the detector noise floor to values that surpass the so-called Standard-Quantum-Limit (SQL). In particular, squeezed light is useful for the detection of gravitational waves at high frequencies where interferometers are typically shot-noise limited, although the SQL might not be beaten in this case. We theoretically analyze the quantum noise of the signal-recycled laser interferometric gravitational-wave detector GEO600 with additional input and output optics, namely frequency-dependent squeezing of the vacuum state of light entering the dark port and frequency-dependent homodyne detection. We focus on the frequency range between 1 kHz and 10 kHz, where, although signal recycled, the detector is still shot-noise limited. It is found that the GEO600 detector with present design parameters will benefit from frequency dependent squeezed light. Assuming a squeezing strength of -6 dB in quantum noise variance, the interferometer will become thermal noise limited up to 4 kHz without further reduction of bandwidth. At higher frequencies the linear noise spectral density of GEO600 will still be dominated by shot-noise and improved by a factor of 10^{6dB/20dB}~2 according to the squeezing strength assumed. The interferometer might reach a strain sensitivity of 6x10^{-23} above 1 kHz (tunable) with a bandwidth of around 350 Hz. We propose a scheme to implement the desired frequency dependent squeezing by introducing an additional optical component to GEO600s signal-recycling cavity.