Displacement-Noise-Free Gravitational-Wave Detection

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for gravitational-wave detection that eliminates displacement noise by exploiting the different effects of gravitational waves and test-mass motions on light propagation, demonstrated through a simple model.

Contribution

The paper proposes a displacement-noise-free detection scheme for gravitational waves, a significant advancement over traditional methods affected by displacement noise.

Findings

Successfully constructs a displacement-noise-free observable

Demonstrates sensitivity to gravitational waves in a toy model

Provides a foundation for improved gravitational-wave detectors

Abstract

We present a new idea that allows us to detect gravitational waves without being disturbed by any kind of displacement noise, based on the fact that gravitational waves and test-mass motions affect the propagations of light differently. We demonstrate this idea by analyzing a simple toy model consisting three equally-separated objects on a line. By taking a certain combination of light travel times between these objects, we construct an observable free from the displacement of each object which has a reasonable sensitivity to gravitational waves.