Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Displacement noise from back scattering and specular reflection of input optics in advanced gravitational wave
1European Gravitational Observatory, I-56021 Cascina, Pi, Italy. benjamin.canuel@ego-gw.it
Abstract:
The second generation of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors are currently being built and installed. They are designed to be better in strain sensitivity by about a factor 10 with respect to the first generation. Light originating from the laser and following unintended paths, called stray light, has been a major problem during the commissioning of all of the first generation detectors. Indeed, stray light carries information about the phase of the emitting object. Therefore, in the next generation all the optics will be suspended in the vacuum in order to mitigate their associated stray light displacement noise. Despite this additional precaution, the challenging target sensitivity at low frequency which is partially limited by quantum radiation pressure combined with up-conversion effects, requires more detailed investigation. In this paper, we turn our attention to stray light originating from auxiliary optical benches. We use a dedicated formalism to compute the re-coupling of back-reflected and back-scattered light. We show, in particular, how much care should be taken in designing and setting requirements for the input bench optics.
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Sound Waves: Interference
Detection of Black Holes
Their closest cousins are neutron stars, which are composed almost entirely of neutrons packed against each other, making them extremely dense. A neutron star has the same mass as the Sun but its diameter is only a few kilometers. Therefore, the escape velocity from their surface is close to the speed of light.
Not until the 1960s, when the first neutron...
Standing Waves in a Cavity
NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction
Sound as Pressure Waves
The pressure fluctuation depends on the difference in displacements between the successive points in the...
