Andrea Vinante

Feedback Cooling of the Normal Modes of a Massive Electromechanical System to Submillikelvin Temperature

We apply a feedback cooling technique to simultaneously cool the three electromechanical normal modes of the ton-scale resonant-bar gravitational wave detector AURIGA. The measuring system is based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) amplifier, and the feedback cooling is applied electronically to the input circuit of the SQUID. Starting from a bath temperature of 4.2 K, we achieve a minimum temperature of 0.17 mK for the coolest normal mode. The same technique, implemented in a dedicated experiment at subkelvin bath temperature and with a quantum limited SQUID, could allow to approach the quantum ground state of a kilogram-scale mechanical resonator.

3-Mode Detection for Widening the Bandwidth of Resonant Gravitational Wave Detectors

Along with peak sensitivity, an important parameter of a resonant gravitational wave detector is its bandwidth. In addition to the obvious advantage of making the detector more sensitive to short bursts, a wider bandwidth would allow, for instance, details of the signal emitted during a supernova gravitational collapse or the merger of compact binaries to be resolved [1]. Moreover, a wider bandwidth reduces the uncertainty in the burst arrival time [2] and consequently, with a detector network, permits a more precise source location and a higher efficiency of spurious events rejection [3]. The introduction of a mechanically resonant transducer, a standard practice in actual resonant detectors, has greatly improved the coupling between the bar and the amplifier, but the bandwidth is intrinsically limited [4], and in practice, according to the full width at half maximum (FWHM) definition applied to the two minima of the Shh strain noise spectra, values of a few Hz have been achieved [5]. The use of multimode resonant transducers should permit further improvements of the detector bandwidth [6]. This approach has been studied [7] in depth and a few 2-mode transducer prototypes have been realized [8] or are under development [9] to obtain 3mode operation of the resonant mass detectors. This Letter describes how a wider detection bandwidth can be obtained with an alternative 2-mode transduction system in which the resonant amplification is realized by means of a resonant mechanical mode plus a resonant electrical matching network. It also describes the key tests performed on the components of the transduction system in order to verify the achievement of the requirements set by analysis of the detector model. Figure 1 shows the electromechanical scheme of a cryogenic detector with a resonant capacitive transducer read by a SQUID amplifier. The matching transformer couples the output impedance of the transducer (a capacitance of a few nF) to the input impedance of the SQUID (a small

Status report and near future prospects for the gravitational wave detector AURIGA

We describe the experimental efforts to set up the second AURIGA run. Thanks to the upgraded capacitive readout, fully characterized and optimized in a dedicated facility, we predict an improvement in the detector sensitivity and bandwidth by at least one order of magnitude. In the second run, AURIGA will also benefit from newly designed cryogenic mechanical suspensions and the upgraded data acquisition and data analysis.

Sensitivity enhancement of Quantum Design dc superconducting quantum interference devices in two-stage configuration

The energy sensitivity of a direct current (dc) superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) can be improved if it is operated in a two-stage configuration. Employing this technique, a commercial dc SQUID system was modified and made competitive with other sensors especially designed for very low noise applications. We report the noise measurements performed in the temperature range 4.2 K–25 mK. At 4.2 K, the coupled energy sensitivity obtained with the two-stage dc SQUID was approximately ten times better than with a conventional readout electronics. The noise energy decreases linearly until approximately 300 mK, in good agreement with theoretical previsions. At lower temperature the hot-electron effect produces a saturation and the best energy sensitivity measured with open input coil is 35 ℏ.

Experimental bounds on collapse models from gravitational wave detectors

Wave function collapse models postulate a fundamental breakdown of the quantum superposition principle at the macroscale. Therefore, experimental tests of collapse models are also fundamental tests of quantum mechanics. Here, we compute the upper bounds on the collapse parameters, which can be inferred by the gravitational wave detectors LIGO, LISA Pathfinder, and AURIGA. We consider the most widely used collapse model, the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model. We show that these experiments exclude a huge portion of the CSL parameter space, the strongest bound being set by the recently launched space mission LISA Pathfinder. We also rule out a proposal for quantum-gravity-induced decoherence.

Stabilization and optimization of a two-stage dc SQUID coupled to a high Q resonator

Abstract A two-stage dc SQUID is strongly coupled to an electrical resonator at 1.6 kHz with quality factor Q =1.1×10 6 in order to simulate the behaviour of the SQUID on a resonant gravitational wave detector. A capacitive damping network is successfully employed in order to avoid the instabilities due to the real part of the SQUID dynamic input impedance. The coupled energy resolution is 300 ℏ at 4.2 K, scales with temperature, and is not significantly worsened by the coupling to the resonator and by the damping network.

Characterization of the input noise sources of a dc SQUID

From the theory of the intrinsic noise in a dc SQUID by Tesche and Clarke, we derive the expressions of the current and voltage input noise spectral densities in a dc SQUID current amplifier operated in a flux locked mode. The expected current and voltage noises are compared, at audio frequencies, with the experimental results obtained with a low noise dc SQUID in which the input load (resonant and not) and the operating temperature (1–4 K) are changed. In order to evaluate the input voltage noise, which is directly related to the current noise around the SQUID loop and is usually neglected, we have used as the input circuit a LC resonator with a very high quality factor (≈106). Both the voltage and current input noises exceed the expected values by the same factor of about 8. This means that the modulus the optimum source impedance of the SQUID amplifier is still in agreement with the value expected from the theory, which is approximately given by the product of the input coil inductance and the angular frequency. To explain the excess noise results, we propose a model in which the voltage and current input noises are due to a thermal magnetic noise source which is present near the SQUID.

Back action of a low noise dc SQUID

Measurements are presented of the back action of a low noise commercial dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) on a strongly-coupled high-quality factor (Q≈106) electrical LC resonator operating at audio frequencies (≈1 kHz). The back-action effect, due to the voltage noise of the SQUID current amplifier, is in good agreement with the predictions. The value of the noise impedance of the SQUID coincides, within 5%, with its input coil inductance times the angular frequency.

Improved Noninterferometric Test of Collapse Models Using Ultracold Cantilevers

Spontaneous collapse models predict that a weak force noise acts on any mechanical system, as a consequence of the collapse of the wave function. Significant upper limits on the collapse rate have been recently inferred from precision mechanical experiments, such as ultracold cantilevers and the space mission LISA Pathfinder. Here, we report new results from an experiment based on a high-Q cantilever cooled to millikelvin temperatures, which is potentially able to improve the current bounds on the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model by 1 order of magnitude. High accuracy measurements of the cantilever thermal fluctuations reveal a nonthermal force noise of unknown origin. This excess noise is compatible with the CSL heating predicted by Adler. Several physical mechanisms able to explain the observed noise have been ruled out.

Present performance and future upgrades of the AURIGA capacitive readout

The resonant bar gravitational wave detector AURIGA is taking data for its second run at T = 4.5 K. The readout has been largely upgraded with respect to the previous run. In particular, we have realized a 3-mode detection scheme by tuning the high-Q resonance of the electrical readout to the mechanical modes of bar and transducer. Moreover, a low noise two-stage SQUID amplifier has been implemented. Thanks to these improvements, the bandwidth has been largely increased and the strain sensitivity is now better than 10 -20 Hz -1/2 over more than 100 Hz. In this paper, we describe a 3-mode model of the detector, which allows us to distinguish between the different noise contributions. Some possible upgrades are discussed.