Mathematical derivation and verification of the amplitude of LISA's interferometric signals on an ultra-stable interferometer testbed
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）；University of Granada（格拉纳达大学）
Alvise Pizzella, Lennart Wissel, Miguel Dovale-Alvarez, Pablo Martinez Cano, Rodrigo Garcia Alvarez, Christoph Bode, Juan Jose Esteban Delgado, Gerhard Heinzel
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)任务旨在通过干涉测量自由下落测试质量（TMs）之间分离变化来探测引力波。LISA的干涉仪必须在光二极管处容忍高达1 mrad的光束倾斜，这会降低干涉振幅并增加诱导的读取噪声耦合。本文使用作者先前工作中开发的分析框架，基于最小和合理的近似，将光束倾斜与通用双光束干涉仪中圆形面积光二极管（PDs）的异频信号振幅联系起来。分析了多种干涉拓扑结构，这些结构对LISA具有高度相关性。推导了无限探测器的精确振幅响应和有限探测器的闭式近似，并通过数值模拟和超稳定LISA代表测试台的实验测量验证了两者。随后利用该模型量化了倾斜下信噪比（SNR）降低导致的相位噪声放大效应，显示干涉光束的曲率不匹配显著增强了此效应。最后引入了一个紧凑函数，捕捉了基于四象限光二极管（QPD）读出的相关和不相关相位噪声的角依赖性。这里预测并测量了由波前曲率不匹配引起的新的噪声特征。这些结果表明，控制测试质量干涉仪（TMI）中的波前曲率不匹配对于限制超额相位噪声至关重要。本文推导的模型和结果，尽管起源于LISA的背景，但具有通用性，可应用于任何经历倾斜的干涉拓扑结构。
英文摘要：
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission aims to detect gravitational waves by interferometrically measuring the change of separation between free-falling test masses (TMs). LISA's interferometers must deliver pm/rtHz sensitivity while accommodating beam tilts up to 1 mrad at the photodiodes, which degrade the interferometric amplitude and increase the induced readout noise coupling. This paper uses an analytical framework developed by the authors in a previous work, based on minimal and justified approximations, that relates beam tilt to the resulting heterodyne signal amplitude in a generic two-beam interferometer with circular-area photodiodes (PDs). A set of interferometric topologies is analyzed, all of high relevance for LISA. We derive the exact amplitude response for an infinite detector and a closed-form approximation for finite detectors, and we validate both against numerical simulations and experimental measurements on an ultra-stable LISA-representative testbed. We then use this model to quantify the phase-noise amplification arising from reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) under tilt, showing that curvature mismatches between the interfering beams substantially enhance this effect. Finally, we introduce a compact function that captures the angular dependence of correlated and uncorrelated phase noises in quadrant photodiode (QPD)-based readouts. Here, a new noise feature, caused by wavefront curvature mismatch, is predicted and measured for the first time. These results indicate that controlling wavefront curvature mismatch in the test mass interferometer (TMI) is essential to limit excess phase noise. The models and results derived in this paper, although originating in the context of LISA, are general and can be applied to any interferometric topology undergoing tilts with pivot on the detector plane.
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Space-based interferometric gravitational wave instruments such as the ESA/NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) observe gravitational waves by measuring changes in the light travel time between widely-separated spacecraft. One potential noise source for these instruments is interaction with the solar wind, in particular the free electrons in the interplanetary plasma. Variations in the integrated column density of free electrons along the laser links will lead to time-of-flight delays which directly compete with signals produced by gravitational waves. In this paper we present a simp…
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The arm length and the isolation in space enable LISA to probe for signals unattainable on ground, opening a window to the sub-Hz gravitational-wave universe. The coupling of unavoidable angular spacecraft jitter into the longitudinal displacement measurement, an effect known as tilt-to-length (TTL) coupling, is critical for realizing the required sensitivity of picometer$/\sqrt{\rm{Hz}}$. An ultra-stable interferometer testbed has been developed in order to investigate this issue and validate mitigation strategies in a setup representative of LISA, and in this paper it is operated in the long…
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Theia is an astrometric mission proposed to ESA in 2014 for which one of the scientific objectives is detecting Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone of nearby solar-type stars. This objective requires the capability to measure stellar centroids at the precision of 1e-5 pixel. Current state-of-the-art methods for centroid estimation have reached a precision of about 3e-5 pixel at two times Nyquist sampling, this was shown at the JPL by the VESTA experiment. A metrology system was used to calibrate intra and inter pixel quantum efficiency variations in order to correct pixelation errors. …
Auxiliary-Channel-Assisted Cross-Talk Noise Removal in LISA Pathfinder
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific（亚太理论物理中心）；Taiji Laboratory for Gravitational Wave Universe（太极引力波宇宙实验室）；Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study（杭州高等研究院）
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a future space-based interferometric gravitational-wave detector consisting of three spacecraft in a triangular configuration. The interferometric measurements of path length changes between satellites will be performed on optical benches in the satellites. Angular misalignments of the interfering beams couple into the length measurement and represent a significant noise source. Imaging systems will be used to reduce this tilt-to-length coupling. We designed and constructed an optical test bed to experimentally investigate tilt-to-length couplin…
Tilt-to-length (TTL) noise from angular jitter in LISA is projected to be the dominant noise source in the milli-Hertz band unless corrected in post-processing. The correction is only possible after removing the overwhelming laser phase noise using time-delay interferometry (TDI). We present here a frequency domain model that describes the effect of angular motion of all three spacecraft on the interferometric signals after propagating through TDI. We then apply a Fisher information matrix analysis to this model to calculate the minimum uncertainty with which TTL coupling coefficients may be e…
We present a study of the use and limits of the Time-Delay Interferometry null channels for in flight estimation of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna instrumental noise. The paper considers how the two main limiting noise sources, test-mass acceleration noise and interferometric phase measurement noise, propagate through different Time-Delay Interferometry channels: the Michelson combination X that is the most sensitive to gravitational waves, then the less-sensitive combinations $α$, and finally the null channel $ζ$. We note that the null channel $ζ$, which is known to be equivalent to a…
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LISA Non-Linear Dynamics and Tilt-To-Length Coupling
Universität Heidelberg（海德堡大学）；KU Leuven（荷语鲁汶大学）；Leuven Gravity Institute, KU Leuven（荷语鲁汶大学引力研究所）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）
The third-generation of gravitational wave observatories, such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) and Cosmic Explorer (CE), aim for an improvement in sensitivity of at least a factor of ten over a wide frequency range compared to the current advanced detectors. In order to inform the design of the third-generation detectors and to develop and qualify their subsystems, dedicated test facilities are required. ETpathfinder prototype uses full interferometer configurations and aims to provide a high sensitivity facility in a similar environment as ET. Along with the interferometry at 1550 nm and silic…
Construction of Sensitivity Curves for Dynamic LISA and Taiji
School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)（中国科学院大学天文与空间科学学院）；School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS（中国科学院大学杭州高等研究院基础物理与数学学院）；International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific, UCAS（中国科学院大学亚太理论物理中心）
LISA is a proposed space-based laser interferometer detecting gravitational waves by measuring distances between free-floating test masses housed in three satellites in a triangular constellation with laser links in-between. Each satellite contains two optical benches that are articulated by moving optical subassemblies for compensating the breathing angle in the constellation. The phase reference distribution system, also known as backlink, forms an optical bi-directional path between the intra-satellite benches. In this work we discuss phase reference implementations with a target non-recipr…
We propose an atom interferometer gravitational wave detector in low Earth orbit (AGIS-LEO). Gravitational waves can be observed by comparing a pair of atom interferometers separated over a ~30 km baseline. In the proposed configuration, one or three of these interferometer pairs are simultaneously operated through the use of two or three satellites in formation flight. The three satellite configuration allows for the increased suppression of multiple noise sources and for the detection of stochastic gravitational wave signals. The mission will offer a strain sensitivity of < 10^(-18) / Hz^(1/…
Tilt-to-length coupling is a technical term for the cross-coupling of angular or lateral jitter into an interferometric phase signal. It is an important noise source in precision interferometers and originates either from changes in the optical path lengths or from wavefront and clipping effects. Within this paper, we focus on geometric TTL coupling and categorize it into a number of different mechanisms for which we give analytic expressions. We then show that this geometric description is not always sufficient to predict the TTL coupling noise within an interferometer. We, therefore, discuss…
