Room temperature GW bar detector with opto-mechanical readout

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a room-temperature gravitational wave bar detector with an innovative opto-mechanical readout, achieving wide-band sensitivity and precise thermal noise modeling, paving the way for future cryogenic enhancements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel opto-mechanical readout system for GW detection at room temperature, enabling wide-band sensitivity and detailed thermal noise analysis.

Findings

Spectral sensitivity characterized across the system

Thermal noise model validated with the new readout

Potential for cryogenic operation improvements

Abstract

We present the full implementation of a room-temperature gravitational wave bar detector equipped with an opto-mechanical readout. The mechanical vibrations are read by a Fabry--Perot interferometer whose length changes are compared with a stable reference optical cavity by means of a resonant laser. The detector performance is completely characterized in terms of spectral sensitivity and statistical properties of the fluctuations in the system output signal. The new kind of readout technique allows for wide-band detection sensitivity and we can accurately test the model of the coupled oscillators for thermal noise. Our results are very promising in view of cryogenic operation and represent an important step towards significant improvements in the performance of massive gravitational wave detectors.