Improving the sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors

提高引力波探测器的灵敏度

• 批准号: 2579131
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2579131
• 关键词: Improving; sensitivity; gravitational; wave; detectors

Since the start of their first observing runs in fall 2015, Advanced LIGO and Virgo have made direct detections of gravitational waves created by the collisions of black holes and of neutron stars, thus bringing to life a new instrument for astronomy. This is accomplished through their measurements of infinitesimal changes (less than 10^-19 m at 100 Hz!) in the distance between two largely separated mirrors. The Advanced LIGO laser interferometers are already the most precise measurement devices in the world, but there nonetheless remain many challenges along the path to further improve the interferometers in order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and rate of gravitational wave detections. Noise resulting from fundamental physics such as the quantum nature of light and from technical sources such as the imperfect sensors used for controlling the interferometer's myriad degrees of freedom require clever solutions that push the limits of technology. There are several possible research directions for a new PhD student. Projects could include developing and testing new interferometric readout schemes, researching new laser wavelengths, designing and building tilt-insensitive inertial sensors for improved seismic isolation, improving the integration of squeezed light to the interferometers, designing and prototyping new optical layouts for sensitivity improvement at targeted frequencies, modelling control topologies for third generation interferometers such as the Einstein Telescope, and contributing to fundamental physics experiments using precision interferometry. The PhD student will gain skills in high-precision optical experiments and noise analyses of complex experimental systems, all the while contributing to the budding field of gravitational-wave astronomy.

自 2015 年秋季开始首次观测以来，Advanced LIGO 和 Virgo 已经直接探测到了黑洞和中子星碰撞产生的引力波，从而为天文学带来了新的仪器。这是通过测量两个很大程度上分离的镜子之间的距离的无限微小变化（100 Hz 时小于 10^-19 m！）来实现的。 Advanced LIGO激光干涉仪已经是世界上最精确的测量设备，但在进一步改进干涉仪以提高引力波探测的信噪比和速率方面仍然存在许多挑战。由基础物理（例如光的量子性质）和技术来源（例如用于控制干涉仪无数自由度的不完美传感器）产生的噪声需要突破技术极限的巧妙解决方案。新博士生有几个可能的研究方向。项目可能包括开发和测试新的干涉读数方案、研究新的激光波长、设计和构建倾斜不敏感惯性传感器以改善隔震性能、改进压缩光与干涉仪的集成、设计新的光学布局并进行原型设计以提高目标灵敏度频率，为第三代干涉仪（例如爱因斯坦望远镜）建模控制拓扑，并利用精密干涉测量为基础物理实验做出贡献。博士生将获得高精度光学实验和复杂实验系统噪声分析的技能，同时为新兴的引力波天文学领域做出贡献。