CAREER: Detector Technology and Science Education in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astrophysics

这项职业奖资助了雪城大学的研究，以支持高级LIGO观测引力波宇宙的探索。这项研究将包括监测先进LIGO的数据质量和开发升级探测器的硬件。特别支持i)为Advanced LIGO的输出模式清洁器设计和开发自适应模式匹配，使探测器能够使用非经典压缩真空来提高观测距离。ii)寻找罕见的探测器人工制品和低水平的环境相关性，容易降低高级LIGO的科学回报。爱因斯坦的广义相对论预言，剧烈的宇宙事件，比如中子星碰撞，会导致地球上时空的微小扭曲，这种扭曲可以用悬挂光学镜子之间距离的微小波动来测量。nsf资助的高级LIGO项目旨在精确测量这些所谓的引力波。高级LIGO的灵敏度受到光量子化的限制，但可以通过使用额外的非经典光源来提高。然而，这种光源对光学损耗极为敏感。该合同支持光束路径中自适应元件的开发，以保证所有来自干涉仪的光都能被检测到。此外，环境干扰有可能模拟由引力波引起的微小距离波动。该合同支持监测高级LIGO的数据以应对此类干扰。对引力波的首次直接观测将是一项科学突破，新闻媒体对此予以回应，这将提供一个推广的机会。该奖项支持为高中教师举办研讨会，将天文学这一全新领域的新科学发现带到高中教室。

This CAREER award funds research at Syracuse University to support Advanced LIGO's quest to observe the gravitational wave universe. The research will include monitoring Advanced LIGO's data quality and developing hardware for upgrading the detectors. Specifically supported are i) The design and development of adaptive mode-matching for Advanced LIGO's output mode cleaner, enabling the use of non-classical squeezed-vacuum in the detector to improve the observational range. ii) A search for rare detector artifacts and low-level environmental correlations, prone to diminish the scientific return from Advanced LIGO. Einstein's general theory of relativity predicts that violent cosmic events, such as for example colliding neutron stars, lead to tiny distortions of space-time here on earth, measurable as minuscule fluctuations in the distance between suspended optical mirrors. The NSF-funded Advanced LIGO project intends to precisely measure these so-called gravitational waves. Advanced LIGO's sensitivity is limited by the quantization of light, but can be improved by using an additional non-classical light source. Such light sources are however extremely sensitive to optical losses. This award supports the development of adaptive elements in the beam path to guarantee that all the light coming from the interferometer can be detected. Additionally, environmental disturbances have the potential to mimic the tiny distance fluctuations due to gravitational waves. This award supports monitoring Advanced LIGO's data for such disturbances. The first direct observation of gravitational waves will be a scientific break-through echoed in the news media, providing an outreach opportunity. The award supports workshops for high school teachers to bring the excitement of new scientific discoveries in this brand-new field of astronomy to high school class rooms.