A cryogenic and superconducting inertial sensor for the Lunar Gravitational--Wave Antenna, the Einstein Telescope and Selene-physics

TL;DR

This paper introduces cryogenic superconducting inertial sensors (CSIS) that significantly enhance low-frequency gravitational-wave detection capabilities on the Moon and in the Einstein Telescope, while also providing insights into lunar interior physics.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel cryogenic superconducting inertial sensor with unprecedented displacement sensitivity, enabling new low-frequency gravitational-wave detection and lunar interior studies.

Findings

CSIS achieves 3 orders of magnitude better sensitivity at 0.5 Hz than current sensors.

CSIS enables gravitational-wave detection below 1 Hz, down to 1 mHz.

Seismic data from CSIS can provide new insights into the Moon's interior.

Abstract

The Lunar Gravitational--Wave Antenna is a proposed low-frequency gravitational-wave detector on the Moon surface. It will be composed of an array of high-end cryogenic superconducting inertial sensors (CSISs). A cryogenic environment will be used in combination with superconducting materials to open up pathways to low-loss actuators and sensor mechanics. CSIS revolutionizes the (cryogenic) inertial sensor field with a modelled displacement sensitivity at 0.5 Hz of 3 orders of magnitude better than the current state-of-the-art. It will allow the Lunar Gravitational-Wave Antenna to be sensitive below 1 Hz, down to 1 mHz and it will also be employed in the forthcoming Einstein Telescope --a third-generation gravitational-wave detector which will make use of cryogenic technologies and that will have an enhanced sensitivity below 10 Hz. Moreover, CSIS seismic data could also be employed to obtain new insights about the Moon interior and what we can call the Selene-physics.