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New squeezing record at GEO600 gravitational-wave detector by Staff Writers Hannover, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2018
The detection of Einstein's gravitational waves relies on highly precise laser measurements of small length changes. The kilometer-size detectors of the international network (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo) are so sensitive that they are fundamentally limited by tiny quantum mechanical effects. These cause a background noise which overlaps with gravitational-wave signals. This noise is always present and can never be entirely removed. But one can change its properties - with a process called squeezing, to date only used routinely at GEO600 - such that it interferes less with the measurement. Now, GEO600 researchers have achieved better squeezing than ever. This opens new ways to improve the international detector network in the next observation runs and is a key step to third-generation detectors such as the Einstein Telescope.
A Marvelous New Record The research team employed newly designed optical components and tuned the optical setup of the squeezed light source and how it is coupled to the detector. "With the current phase of interface upgrades complete, we've been able to start to fully optimize and characterize the system giving us this marvelous new record in squeezing, enhancing our sensitivity in frequencies important for understanding neutron star physics," says Dr. James Lough, lead scientist for GEO600.
Pioneering Work at GEO600 The German-British gravitational-wave detector GEO600 near Hannover has been routinely using a squeezed-light source since 2010 and has been the only instrument in the world to do so. The light source custom-made for GEO600 was developed and built at the AEI. Together with the AEI colleagues, the GEO600 team has been continuously working to improve the integration of the "squeezer" into the detector. This is key because of the fragile nature of squeezed light: even a very small loss of it on its way into the detector limits the possible increase in sensitivity of GEO600. Therefore, many small improvements can result in large gains in sensitivity.
Squeezing in the Next Observation Run O3 "For future third-generation detectors like the European Einstein Telescope even higher levels of squeezing are required. With this amazing new record at GEO600, we are now ready to perfect this technology and tackle the next challenges on the way to the Einstein Telescope," says Prof. Karsten Danzmann, director at the AEI and director of the Institute for Gravitational Physics at Leibniz Universitat Hannover.
Mini-detectors for the gigantic Dresden, Germany (SPX) Dec 13, 2018 The gravitational waves created by black holes or neutron stars in the depths of space indeed reach Earth. Their effects, however, are so small that they could only be observed so far using kilometer-long measurement facilities. Physicists therefore are discussing whether ultracold and miniscule Bose-Einstein condensates with their ordered quantum properties could also detect these waves. Prof. Ralf Schutzhold from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Dresden has now carefully look ... read more
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