Detection of Gravitational Waves: Optical Devices, Materials, and Analysis for LIGO

引力波探测：LIGO 光学设备、材料和分析

• 批准号: 0555453
• 负责人: Guenakh Mitselmakher
• 金额: $ 170.5万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-15 至 2010-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0555453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Detection; Gravitational; Waves; Optical; Devices

This award supports research and development for LIGO in three main areas. First, work will be done on the input optics of Advanced LIGO, including extensive high-power testing of critical optical components such as modulators, Faraday isolators, and other transmissive optics. Studies of possible damage to optical coatings from Advanced LIGO intensity levels will be carried out. Some of this work will take place at the LIGO Livingston Laboratory. Methods for active compensation of thermal lensing in these devices will be explored, and systems constructed. Thermal lensing effects will be exploited to develop an adaptive mode-matching telescope. In addition, looking further into the future, an experiment to measure near-field radiative heat transfer between cryogenically cooled mirrors will be initiated. We will also extend our work on high power adaptive optics to third generation optical components (diffraction gratings). Third, data analysis and detector characterization algorithms will continue to be developed. In particular, work will be done to develop and implement coherent network algorithms and to conduct analysis of data collected by networks of gravitational wave detectors. Cross-correlation techniques will be applied to magnetometer data at the sites, as a likely background for stochastic gravitational wave searches. Finally, contributions to the LIGO data analysis and data monitoring software will continue to be made. Students in the UF LIGO group may become involved with sophisticated methods for extraction of signals from noise, computational schemes for manipulation of huge data sets, sophisticated techniques for control and stabilization of laser wavelength and beam quality, complex mechanical engineering, demanding ultra high vacuum techniques, and many more, depending on individual interests. Moreover, the nature of the project makes these experiences available to undergraduate students as well as to graduate and postdoctoral students. Graduate students and postdoctoral students in the UF LIGO group are working in areas of high demand in the outside technical community. Finally, the research in high performance modulators, isolators, and interferometric techniques, and the advanced computational techniques being developed for LIGO have the potential to impact other areasof technology.

该奖项支持LIGO在三个主要领域的研究和开发。首先，将对先进LIGO的输入光学器件进行工作，包括对调制器、法拉第隔离器和其他透射光学器件等关键光学部件进行广泛的高功率测试。将进行先进LIGO强度水平对光学涂层可能造成的损害的研究。其中一些工作将在LIGO利文斯顿实验室进行。在这些设备中的热透镜的主动补偿的方法将被探索，和系统的构建。热透镜效应将被用来开发自适应模式匹配望远镜。此外，展望未来，将启动一项测量低温冷却镜之间近场辐射传热的实验。我们还将把我们在高功率自适应光学方面的工作扩展到第三代光学元件（衍射光栅）。第三，将继续开发数据分析和探测器表征算法。特别是，将努力开发和实施相干网络算法，并对引力波探测器网络收集的数据进行分析。互相关技术将应用于这些地点的磁力计数据，作为随机引力波搜索的可能背景。最后，将继续为LIGO数据分析和数据监测软件做出贡献。UF LIGO小组的学生可能会参与从噪声中提取信号的复杂方法，用于操纵庞大数据集的计算方案，用于控制和稳定激光波长和光束质量的复杂技术，复杂的机械工程，要求超高真空技术等等，这取决于个人兴趣。此外，该项目的性质使这些经验提供给本科生以及研究生和博士后学生。研究生和博士后学生在用友LIGO组在高需求领域的工作在外面的技术社区。最后，高性能调制器、隔离器和干涉技术的研究，以及为LIGO开发的先进计算技术，有可能影响其他技术领域。