Collaborative Research: Cosmic Explorer Optical Design

合作研究：宇宙探索者光学设计

• 批准号: 2309265
• 负责人: Paul Fulda
• 金额: $ 27.17万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2309265&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Cosmic; Explorer; Optical

The US has played a leading role in the global effort toward the observation of gravitational waves for several decades, resulting in the Nobel Physics Prize in 2017 for the first detection of waves from a binary black hole merger by the Advanced LIGO detectors, and many more astrophysical revelations since. Cosmic Explorer is the means by which the US will maintain that leadership in the decades to come. The Cosmic Explorer concept for a next-generation gravitational wave observatory seeks to answer fundamental questions about our universe such as: How did black holes form throughout cosmic time? What is the physics of extreme matter? What is the true nature of strong gravity? This project supports the conceptual design of the laser interferometers that will enable the Cosmic Explorer gravitational wave detectors to achieve cosmological range and exquisite fidelity in their observations. The team assembled for this award brings to bear decades of relevant experience and will build on the lessons learned from Advanced LIGO, leveraging legacy and novel concepts and technologies to produce a robust conceptual optical design. In the process of producing this optical design, the award will also serve to develop the workforce that will be essential for completing the further stages of design, installation and commissioning of the Cosmic Explorer detectors. By putting Cosmic Explorer more firmly on the path to actualization, this award will ensure that gravitational wave science continues inspiring young scientists across the country to fulfill their potential as the world-leading researchers of the future.At the heart of the Cosmic Explorer concept are 40-km and 20-km laser interferometers operating with unprecedented strain sensitivity, an order of magnitude greater than that of Advanced LIGO. The improved sensitivity is primarily afforded by the increase in scale, as opposed to the implementation of as-yet unverified technological advancements, thereby reducing technical risk. Nonetheless, the increase in scale itself presents unique challenges for the optical design of the Cosmic Explorer interferometers, such as decreased frequency spacing of parasitic optical modes, control band-width limitations due to the cavity delay, and tighter noise requirements for auxiliary degrees of freedom at low frequencies. Moreover, with the design of an entirely new facility comes the opportunity to develop the optical layout and the infrastructure in parallel, minimizing facility constraints impact on instrument performance, and therefore the achievable science. The work supported by this award will produce a parametric conceptual optical design for the Cosmic Explorer interferometers, informing all other detector subsystem requirements, ahead of a conceptual design review anticipated to take place roughly five years from the award start date. The optical design has been divided into four main work-packages, each led by one of the four collaborating institutions: Core Interferometer, Interferometer Sensing and Control, Laser Stabilization and Lock Acquisition, and Readout and Quantum Enhancement. The tasks contained within these work packages will be addressed using a range of analytical and numerical simulation techniques and will be coordinated with the broader Cosmic Explorer conceptual design through the Cosmic Explorer Systems Team.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

几十年来，美国在全球观测引力波的努力中发挥了主导作用，2017年因先进LIGO探测器首次探测到二元黑洞合并的波而获得诺贝尔物理学奖，以及此后更多的天体物理学发现。“宇宙探索者”是美国在未来几十年保持领导地位的手段。下一代引力波天文台的宇宙探索者概念旨在回答有关我们宇宙的基本问题，例如：黑洞是如何在整个宇宙时间中形成的？极端物质的物理学是什么？强引力的真正本质是什么？该项目支持激光干涉仪的概念设计，这将使宇宙探测器引力波探测器能够实现宇宙学范围和精确的观测保真度。为这个奖项而组建的团队带来了数十年的相关经验，并将借鉴Advanced LIGO的经验教训，利用传统和新颖的概念和技术来产生强大的概念光学设计。在制作这种光学设计的过程中，该奖项还将用于培养对于完成宇宙探索者探测器的进一步设计、安装和调试阶段至关重要的劳动力。通过将宇宙探测器更坚定地推向实现的道路，该奖项将确保引力波科学继续激励全国各地的年轻科学家发挥他们作为未来世界领先研究人员的潜力。宇宙探测器概念的核心是40公里和20公里激光干涉仪，其应变灵敏度前所未有，比高级LIGO高一个数量级。灵敏度的提高主要是由于规模的扩大，而不是实施尚未核实的技术进步，从而降低了技术风险。尽管如此，规模的增加本身对宇宙探测器干涉仪的光学设计提出了独特的挑战，例如寄生光学模式的频率间隔减小，由于腔延迟而导致的控制带宽限制，以及对低频辅助自由度的更严格的噪声要求。此外，随着全新设施的设计，有机会并行开发光学布局和基础设施，最大限度地减少设施限制对仪器性能的影响，从而实现科学。该奖项支持的工作将为宇宙探测器干涉仪产生参数化概念光学设计，通知所有其他探测器子系统要求，预计将在奖项开始日期后大约五年进行概念设计审查。光学设计分为四个主要工作包，每个工作包由四个合作机构之一领导：核心干涉仪，干涉仪传感和控制，激光稳定和锁定采集，以及读出和量子增强。这些工作包中包含的任务将使用一系列分析和数值模拟技术来解决，并将通过宇宙探测器系统团队与更广泛的宇宙探测器概念设计协调。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。