Research on a Cryogenic Suspension for LIGO

约翰逊教授和亚当斯教授将研究冷却镜悬浮到低温温度。主要的活动将是测量可能的镜面悬挂线的耗散参数(称为Q-1)作为温度T的函数。参数Q和T确定热噪声的大小和特征。如果像LIGO这样的引力波观测站取得成功，我们将有一种新的方法来观察宇宙生命中一些最可怕的事件，例如两颗中子星对它们的灾难性合并的启发，以及随后黑洞的诞生。LIGO项目将尝试用两个拥有4公里长的激光干涉仪的观测站探测此类事件中的引力波。最初的仪器可能不会带来巨大的科学回报，但只有在灵敏度大幅提高之后才会出现。该奖项旨在开发技术，以在LIGO灵敏度最重要的限制之一--干涉仪反射镜悬挂中的热噪声问题--方面取得重大改进。

Professors Johnson and Adams shall investigate cooling mirror suspension to cryogenic temperatures. The primary activity will be measuring the dissipation parameter (called Q-1) for possible mirror suspension wires as a function of temperature T. The parameters Q and T determine the size and character of thermal noise. They shall investigate one or two special metallic alloys that they have identified as good candidates.If gravitational wave observatories such as LIGO are successful, we shall have a new way to observe some of the most awesome events in the life of the universe, such as the inspiral of two neutron stars to their cataclysmic coalescence and the subsequent birth of a black hole. The LIGO project will attempt detection of gravitational waves from such events with two observatories which have 4 kilometer long laser interferometers. The big scientific payoff may not come with the initial instrument, but only after substantial improvements in sensitivity. This award is directed towards developing the technology to make a major improvement in one of the most important limits to LIGO sensitivity: the problem of thermal noise in the suspension of the interferometer mirrors.