Trade-off between quantum and thermal fluctuations in mirror coatings yields improved sensitivity of gravitational-wave interferometers

TL;DR

This paper proposes reducing mirror coating layers in gravitational-wave detectors to decrease thermal noise, balancing increased quantum noise for a 20-30% sensitivity improvement under feasible laser power conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel trade-off strategy between quantum and thermal noise by adjusting coating layers, enhancing detector sensitivity.

Findings

20-30% sensitivity gain achievable

Trade-off between thermal and quantum noise demonstrated

Feasible laser power levels support proposed improvements

Abstract

We propose a simple way to improve the laser gravitational-wave detectors sensitivity by means of reduction of the number of reflective coating layers of the core optics mirrors. This effects in the proportional decrease of the coating thermal noise, the most notorious among the interferometers technical noise sources. The price for this is the increased quantum noise, as well as high requirements for the pump laser power and power at the beamsplitter. However, as far as these processes depend differently on the coating thickness, we demonstrate that a certain trade-off is possible, yielding a 20-30% gain (for diverse gravitational wave signal types and interferometer configurations), providing that feasible values of laser power and power on the beamsplitter are assumed.