Angular control of optical cavities in a radiation-pressure-dominated regime: the Enhanced LIGO case

We describe the angular sensing and control (ASC) of 4 km detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Enhanced LIGO, the culmination of the first generation LIGO detectors, operated between 2009 and 2010 with about 40 kW of laser power in the arm cavities. In this re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision Optics, image science, and vision, 2013-12, Vol.30 (12), p.2618-2626
Main Authors: Dooley, Katherine L, Barsotti, Lisa, Adhikari, Rana X, Evans, Matthew, Fricke, Tobin T, Fritschel, Peter, Frolov, Valera, Kawabe, Keita, Smith-Lefebvre, Nicolás
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We describe the angular sensing and control (ASC) of 4 km detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Enhanced LIGO, the culmination of the first generation LIGO detectors, operated between 2009 and 2010 with about 40 kW of laser power in the arm cavities. In this regime, radiation-pressure effects are significant and induce instabilities in the angular opto-mechanical transfer functions. Here we present and motivate the ASC design in this extreme case and present the results of its implementation in Enhanced LIGO. Highlights of the ASC performance are successful control of opto-mechanical torsional modes, relative mirror motions of ≤ 1×10(-7) rad rms, and limited impact on in-band strain sensitivity.
ISSN:1084-7529
1520-8532
DOI:10.1364/JOSAA.30.002618