Observation of Parametric Instability in Advanced LIGO

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of parametric instability in an Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detector, demonstrating its presence and outlining methods for mitigation to enhance detector performance.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of parametric instability in a kilometer-scale interferometer and discusses strategies for its removal.

Findings

First observation of parametric instability in Advanced LIGO

Effective methods developed to mitigate the instability

Implications for improving gravitational wave detector sensitivity

Abstract

Parametric instabilities have long been studied as a potentially limiting effect in high-power interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Until now, however, these instabilities have never been observed in a kilometer-scale interferometer. In this work we describe the first observation of parametric instability in an Advanced LIGO detector, and the means by which it has been removed as a barrier to progress.