Time-Delay Interferometry and Clock-Noise Calibration

TL;DR

This paper extends the second-generation Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) techniques for the LISA mission to include calibration of onboard ultra stable oscillator (USO) phase noise, accounting for realistic spacecraft trajectories.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized USO calibration algorithm for second-generation TDI applicable to realistic LISA trajectories, improving noise cancellation methods.

Findings

Developed a USO calibration algorithm for rotating and flexing LISA configurations.

Enhanced TDI noise cancellation by incorporating USO phase noise calibration.

Provided a theoretical framework for realistic trajectory calibration in space-based gravitational wave detection.

Abstract

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna is a joint ESA-NASA space-mission to detect and study mHz cosmic gravitational waves. The trajectories followed by its three spacecraft result in unequal- and time-varying arms, requiring use of the Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) post- processing technique to cancel the laser phase noises affecting the heterodyne one-way Doppler measurements. Although the second-generation formulation of TDI cancels the laser phase noises when the array is both rotating and "flexing", second-generation TDI combinations for which the phase fluctuations of the onboard ultra stable oscillators (USOs) can be calibrated out have not appeared yet in the literature. In this article we present the solution of this problem by generalizing to the realistic LISA trajectory the USO calibration algorithm derived by Armstrong, Estabrook and Tinto for a static configuration.