Increased Sensitivity of Higher-Order Laser Beams to Mode Mismatches

TL;DR

This paper derives explicit relationships showing that higher-order laser modes are more sensitive to mode mismatches, impacting the design and operation of advanced gravitational-wave detectors.

Contribution

It provides explicit factors linking mode mismatch-induced power losses in Hermite-Gauss modes to fundamental mode losses, highlighting increased sensitivity of higher-order modes.

Findings

Higher-order modes are more sensitive to beam parameter mismatches.

The results inform mode matching and squeezing requirements for advanced gravitational-wave detectors.

The work aids in optimizing detector performance by understanding mode mismatch effects.

Abstract

This manuscript derives explicit factors linking mode-mismatch-induced power losses, in Hermite-Gauss optical modes to the losses of the fundamental spatial mode. Higher order modes are found to be more sensitive to beam parameter mismatches. This is particularly relevant for gravitational-wave detectors, where lasers employing higher-order optical modes have been proposed to mitigate thermal noise and quantum-enhanced detectors are very susceptible to losses. This work should inform mode matching and squeezing requirements for \textit{Advanced+} and \textit{Third Generation} detectors.