J. C. Driggers

Towards a first design of a Newtonian-noise cancellation system for Advanced LIGO

Newtonian gravitational noise from seismic fields is predicted to be a limiting noise source at low frequency for second generation gravitational-wave detectors. Mitigation of this noise will be achieved by Wiener filtering using arrays of seismometers deployed in the vicinity of all test masses. In this work, we present optimized configurations of seismometer arrays using a variety of simplified models of the seismic field based on seismic observations at LIGO Hanford. The model that best fits the seismic measurements leads to noise reduction limited predominantly by seismometer self-noise. A first simplified design of seismic arrays for Newtonian-noise cancellation at the LIGO sites is presented, which suggests that it will be sufficient to monitor surface displacement inside the buildings.

Noise and control decoupling of Advanced LIGO suspensions

Ground-based interferometric gravitational wave observatories such as Advanced LIGO must isolate their optics from ground vibrations with suspension systems to meet their stringent noise requirements. These suspensions typically have very high quality-factor resonances that require active damping. The sensor noise associated with this damping is a potential significant contributor to the sensitivity of these interferometers. This paper introduces a novel scheme for suspension damping that isolates much of this noise and permits greater amounts of damping. It also decouples the damping feedback design from the interferometer control. The scheme works by invoking a change from a local coordinate frame associated with each suspension, to a coordinate frame aligned with the interferometric readout. In this way, degrees of freedom invisible to the readout can employ effective, but noisy damping. The degree of freedom measured by the readout is then damped using low noise interferometer signals, eliminating the need to use the usual noisy sensors. Simulated and experimental results validate the concepts presented in this paper.