Gravitational-wave interferometers : from classical to quantum noise(1222-RC/SB-08)

Orateur : Pierre-François COHADON (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel et Collaboration Virgo)

Detecting gravitational waves required 4 decades of experimental effort to reach a sensitivity at the h 10-21 level, corresponding to mirror displacements below 10^-18 m. I will review this "noise hunting" effort and give some details about the recent observations of black hole mergers and neutron star merger. Apart from classical noise (seismic noise, thermal noise...), it was realized as soon as in the late 70s that quantum fluctuations of the light field were responsible for the Standard Quantum Limit, a sensitivity limit that second-generation gravitational-wave interferometers will reach once they operate at their design sensitivity, by 2021. A number of ideas have been considered to beat the SQL : squeezed states of the light field, tailoring the optical response function or taking advantage of the mirror mechanical response to radiation pressure. I will present the first experimental demonstrations of such ideas and how they will soon be implemented on Advanced Virgo and Advanced LIGO.

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