Enhanced sensitivity of the LIGO gravitational wave detector by using squeezed states of light

Creators: Aasi, J.; Abadie, J.; Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abernathy, M. R.; Adhikari, R. X.; Ajith, P.; Anderson, S. B.; Arai, K.; Araya, M. C.; Austin, L.; Barayoga, J. C.; Billingsley, G.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Bork, R.; Brooks, A. F.; Buckland, K.; Cepeda, C.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Coyne, D. C.; Daudert, B.; Dergachev, V.; Doravari, S.; Driggers, J. C.; Ehrens, P.; Engel, R.; Etzel, T.; Fotopoulos, N.; Gustafson, E. K.; Harms, J.; Heefner, J.; Heptonstall, A. W.; Hodge, K. A.; Ivanov, A.; Jacobson, M.; James, E.; Kalmus, P.; Kells, W.; King, P. J.; Kondrashov, V.; Korth, W. Z.; Kozak, D.; Lazzarini, A.; Litvine, V.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Maros, E.; Martinov, D.; Marx, J. N.; McIntyre, G.; Meshkov, S.; Nash, T.; Ogin, G. H.; Osthelder, C.; Pedraza, M.; Phelps, M.; Poux, C.; Price, L. R.; Privitera, S.; Quintero, E.; Reitze, D. H.; Robertson, N. A.; Rollins, J. G.; Sannibale, V.; Santamaría, L.; Seifert, F.; Shao, Z.; Singer, A.; Smith, M. R.; Smith-Lefebvre, N. D.; Taylor, R.; Thrane, E.; Torrie, C. I.; Vass, S.; Wallace, L.; Weinstein, A. J.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Willems, P. A.; Williams, R.; Williams, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Yeaton-Massey, D.; Zhang, L.; Zweizig, J.; Chen, Y,; Gossan, S.; Hong, T.; Miao, H.; Ott, C. D.; Thorne, K. S.; Vallisneri, M.; Yang, H.; Drever, R. W. P.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration

Abstract

Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of Earth-based gravitational wave observatories is seeking to directly detect this faint radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometre-level sensitivity of the kilometre-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here, we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum noise limit, most notably in the frequency region down to 150 Hz, critically important for several astrophysical sources, with no deterioration of performance observed at any frequency. With the injection of squeezed states, this LIGO detector demonstrated the best broadband sensitivity to gravitational waves ever achieved, with important implications for observing the gravitational-wave Universe with unprecedented sensitivity.

Additional Information

© 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited Received: 23 April 2013. Accepted: 04 June 2013. Published online: 21 July 2013. The authors acknowledge support from the United States National Science Foundation for the construction and operation of the LIGO Laboratory, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, the Max-Planck-Society and the State of Niedersachsen/Germany for supporting the construction and operation of the GEO600 detector. The authors also acknowledge support for the research, by these agencies and by the Australian Research Council, the International Science Linkages programme of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India, the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of Italy, the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, the Conselleria d'Economia, Hisenda i Innovació of the Govern de les Illes Balears, the Royal Society, the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Research Foundation of Korea, Industry Canada and the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the National Science and Engineering Research Council Canada, the Carnegie Trust, the Leverhulme Trust, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Research Corporation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Author Contributions: The activities of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) include modelling astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, setting sensitivity requirements for observatories, designing, building and running observatories, carrying out research and development of new techniques to increase the sensitivity of these observatories, and performing searches for astrophysical signals contained in the data. S. Dwyer, S. Chua, L. Barsotti and D. Sigg were the leading scientists on this experiment, but a number of LSC members contributed directly to its success. M. Stefszky, A. Khalaidovski, M. Factourovich and C. Mow-Lowry assisted with the development of the squeezed vacuum source under the leadership of N. Mavalvala, D. McClelland and R. Schnabel. K. Kawabe supervised the integration of the squeezed vacuum source into the LIGO interferometer, with invaluable support from M. Landry and the LIGO Hanford Observatory staff. N. Smith-Lefebvre, M. Evans, R. Schofield and C. Vorvick kept the LIGO interferometer at its peak sensitivity and supported the integration of the squeezed vacuum source, with contributions from G. Meadors and D. Gustafson. The initial manuscript was written by L. Barsotti, N. Mavalvala, D. Sigg and D. McClelland. The LSC review of the manuscript was organized by S. Whitcomb. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplemental Material - nphoton.2013.177-s1.pdf

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