Calibration of the LIGO displacement actuators via laser frequency modulation

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/27/21/215001zbMATH Open1255.83049arXiv1005.3746OpenAlexW3104905926MaRDI QIDQ3065896FDOQ3065896

Publication date: 7 January 2011

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We present a frequency modulation technique for calibration of the displacement actuators of the LIGO 4-km-long interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. With the interferometer locked in a single-arm configuration, we modulate the frequency of the laser light, creating an effective length variation that we calibrate by measuring the amplitude of the frequency modulation. By simultaneously driving the voice coil actuators that control the length of the arm cavity, we calibrate the voice coil actuation coefficient with an estimated 1-sigma uncertainty of less than one percent. This technique enables a force-free, single-step actuator calibration using a displacement fiducial that is fundamentally different from those employed in other calibration methods.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1005.3746

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Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Electromagnetic fields in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C50) Radiative transfer in astronomy and astrophysics (85A25) Observational and experimental questions in relativity and gravitational theory (83B05) Gravitational waves (83C35)

Cited In (1)

Displacement transformer in laser gravitational-wave detectors

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