Improved Torsion Pendulum for Ground Testing of LISA Displacement Sensors

TL;DR

This paper presents a new torsion pendulum design for ground testing LISA displacement sensors, offering improved force sensitivity and better simulation of space conditions, including thermal gradient effects.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel torsion pendulum design that directly measures net forces, enhancing ground testing accuracy for LISA displacement sensors.

Findings

Design is directly sensitive to net forces.

Improved simulation of space-like force conditions.

Application to thermal gradient effect measurement.

Abstract

We discuss a new torsion pendulum design for ground testing of prototype LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) displacement sensors. This new design is directly sensitive to net forces and therefore provides a more representative test of the noisy forces and parasitic stiffnesses acting on the test mass as compared to previous ground-based experiments. We also discuss a specific application to the measurement of thermal gradient effects.