Collaborative Research: Cosmic Explorer Optical Design

合作研究：宇宙探索者光学设计

• 批准号: 2309268
• 负责人: Lee McCuller
• 金额: $ 17.02万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2309268&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Cosmic; Explorer; Optical

The US has played a leading role in the global effort toward the observation of gravitational waves for several decades, resulting in the Nobel Physics Prize in 2017 for the first detection of waves from a binary black hole merger by the Advanced LIGO detectors, and many more astrophysical revelations since. Cosmic Explorer is the means by which the US will maintain that leadership in the decades to come. The Cosmic Explorer concept for a next-generation gravitational wave observatory seeks to answer fundamental questions about our universe such as: How did black holes form throughout cosmic time? What is the physics of extreme matter? What is the true nature of strong gravity? This project supports the conceptual design of the laser interferometers that will enable the Cosmic Explorer gravitational wave detectors to achieve cosmological range and exquisite fidelity in their observations. The team assembled for this award brings to bear decades of relevant experience and will build on the lessons learned from Advanced LIGO, leveraging legacy and novel concepts and technologies to produce a robust conceptual optical design. In the process of producing this optical design, the award will also serve to develop the workforce that will be essential for completing the further stages of design, installation and commissioning of the Cosmic Explorer detectors. By putting Cosmic Explorer more firmly on the path to actualization, this award will ensure that gravitational wave science continues inspiring young scientists across the country to fulfill their potential as the world-leading researchers of the future.At the heart of the Cosmic Explorer concept are 40-km and 20-km laser interferometers operating with unprecedented strain sensitivity, an order of magnitude greater than that of Advanced LIGO. The improved sensitivity is primarily afforded by the increase in scale, as opposed to the implementation of as-yet unverified technological advancements, thereby reducing technical risk. Nonetheless, the increase in scale itself presents unique challenges for the optical design of the Cosmic Explorer interferometers, such as decreased frequency spacing of parasitic optical modes, control band-width limitations due to the cavity delay, and tighter noise requirements for auxiliary degrees of freedom at low frequencies. Moreover, with the design of an entirely new facility comes the opportunity to develop the optical layout and the infrastructure in parallel, minimizing facility constraints impact on instrument performance, and therefore the achievable science. The work supported by this award will produce a parametric conceptual optical design for the Cosmic Explorer interferometers, informing all other detector subsystem requirements, ahead of a conceptual design review anticipated to take place roughly five years from the award start date. The optical design has been divided into four main work-packages, each led by one of the four collaborating institutions: Core Interferometer, Interferometer Sensing and Control, Laser Stabilization and Lock Acquisition, and Readout and Quantum Enhancement. The tasks contained within these work packages will be addressed using a range of analytical and numerical simulation techniques and will be coordinated with the broader Cosmic Explorer conceptual design through the Cosmic Explorer Systems Team.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

几十年来，美国在全球引力波观测工作中发挥了主导作用，因先进 LIGO 探测器首次探测到双黑洞合并波而荣获 2017 年诺贝尔物理学奖。自此以来的天体物理学启示。宇宙探索者是美国在未来几十年保持领先地位的手段。下一代引力波天文台的宇宙探索者概念旨在回答有关我们宇宙的基本问题，例如：黑洞在整个宇宙时间内是如何形成的？极端物质的物理原理是什么？强引力的真实本质是什么？该项目支持激光干涉仪的概念设计，使宇宙探索者引力波探测器能够实现宇宙学范围和精确的观测保真度。为该奖项组建的团队拥有数十年的相关经验，并将借鉴先进 LIGO 的经验教训，利用传统和新颖的概念和技术来产生强大的概念光学设计。在进行这种光学设计的过程中，该奖项还将有助于培养对于完成宇宙探索者探测器的设计、安装和调试的进一步阶段至关重要的劳动力。通过让宇宙探索者更加坚定地走上实现之路，该奖项将确保引力波科学继续激励全国各地的年轻科学家发挥他们作为未来世界领先研究人员的潜力。宇宙探索者概念的核心是40 公里和 20 公里激光干涉仪具有前所未有的应变灵敏度，比高级 LIGO 高出一个数量级。灵敏度的提高主要是通过规模的增加来实现的，而不是实施尚未验证的技术进步，从而降低了技术风险。尽管如此，尺寸的增加本身给宇宙探索者干涉仪的光学设计带来了独特的挑战，例如寄生光学模式的频率间隔减小、腔延迟导致的控制带宽限制以及辅助自由度的更严格的噪声要求在低频时。此外，随着全新设施的设计，我们有机会并行开发光学布局和基础设施，最大限度地减少设施限制对仪器性能的影响，从而最大限度地减少对可实现的科学的影响。该奖项支持的工作将为宇宙探索者干涉仪提供参数化概念光学设计，告知所有其他探测器子系统的要求，预计在奖项开始日期后大约五年内进行概念设计审查。光学设计分为四个主要工作包，每个工作包由四个合作机构之一领导：核心干涉仪、干涉仪传感和控制、激光稳定和锁定获取以及读出和量子增强。这些工作包中包含的任务将使用一系列分析和数值模拟技术来解决，并将通过宇宙探索者系统团队与更广泛的宇宙探索者概念设计相协调。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得支持通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。