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年秋季首次观察跑步以来，先进的Ligo和处女座一直直接发现黑洞和中子恒星碰撞产生的引力波，从而使生活成为天文学的新工具。这是通过在两个很大程度分开的镜子之间的距离内的无穷小变化的测量来实现的（在100 hz！！）时实现。先进的LIGO激光干涉仪已经是世界上最精确的测量设备，但是沿途仍然存在许多挑战，以进一步改善干涉仪，以提高信噪比和引力波检测的速率。诸如光的量子性质和技术来源（例如用于控制干涉仪的无数自由度的不完美传感器）所产生的噪音需要巧妙的解决方案，以突破技术的限制。新的博士生有几个可能的研究指示。项目可能包括开发和测试新的干涉读取方案，研究新的激光波长，设计和建造倾斜的倾斜惯性传感器，以改善地震隔离，改善对干涉仪的挤压光的集成，从而使设计和原型型号的敏感性对敏感性进行敏感性，以对三分之二的频率进行设计，并将其用于三分之二望远镜，并使用精度干涉法为基本物理实验做出了贡献。博士生将在复杂实验系统的高精度光学实验和噪声分析方面获得技能，同时为引力波天文学的萌芽领域做出了贡献。