MRI: Acquisition of Cryogenic Coating Elastic Loss Measurement Apparatus to Enhance Gravitational-Wave Observatories

该奖项支持引力波探测器仪器的研究，并解决了NSF“宇宙之窗”大创意的优先领域。美国国家科学基金会的先进激光干涉引力波天文台（LIGO）已经牢固地建立了一个新的天文学时代-黑洞和中子星星合并的观察是在天体物理学，宇宙学，基础物理学和核物理学的广泛问题的新的光。然而，先进LIGO的观测范围仍然受到测试质量光学涂层热噪声的限制。该MRI奖项涵盖了用于测试当前和未来引力波观测站的新型低热噪声反射镜涂层的设备。该设备将由LIGO科学合作组织涂层研究中心的研究人员使用。涂层研究中心由美国国家科学基金会和戈登和贝蒂摩尔基金会共同资助，其具体目标是为引力波探测器开发更好的涂层。通过NSF的PAARE项目，少数民族研究生也可以使用该设备。该奖项专门资助购买和建造一个多温度、多频率的低温弹性损耗测量设备，安装在锡拉丘兹大学。该仪器由PT 407 Cyrostat和附加的样品室组成。它是专门为光学涂层材料测试带来革命性变化而设计的。该设备允许快速周转测量新涂层样品的弹性损失，这驱动了引力波探测器反射镜涂层的热噪声。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是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的支持。

This award supports research in instrumentation for gravitational wave detectors and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. NSF's Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has firmly established a new era in astronomy - the observation of black hole and neutron star mergers is shedding new light on a broad set of questions in astrophysics, cosmology, fundamental physics, and nuclear physics. Yet the observational range of Advanced LIGO is still limited by thermal noise from the test mass optical coatings. This MRI award covers equipment for testing new, lower thermal noise mirror coatings for current and future gravitational-wave observatories. The equipment will be used by researchers in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration's Center of Coatings Research. The Center for Coatings Research, funded jointly by the NSF and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, has the specific goal to develop better coatings for gravitational-wave detectors. The equipment is also available for minority graduate students supported through the NSF's PAARE program.The award specifically funds the purchase and construction of a multi-temperature, multi-frequency cryogenic elastic loss measurement apparatus, to be installed at Syracuse University. The apparatus consists of a PT 407 Cyrostat and attached sample chamber. It is specifically designed to revolutionize testing of optical coatings materials. The apparatus permits rapid-turnaround measurement of the elastic loss of the new coating samples, which drives the thermal noise in gravitational-wave detector mirror coatings.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.