| NSF Org: |
PHY Division Of Physics |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | April 15, 2010 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 24, 2012 |
| Award Number: | 0967049 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Pedro Marronetti
pmarrone@nsf.gov (703)292-7372 PHY Division Of Physics MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2010 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2014 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $620,866.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $620,866.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2011 = $208,422.00 FY 2012 = $204,984.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1200 E CALIFORNIA BLVD PASADENA CA US 91125-0001 (626)395-6219 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
1200 E CALIFORNIA BLVD PASADENA CA US 91125-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | LIGO RESEARCH SUPPORT |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001112DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This award supports the research program of Professor Vladimir Braginsky and his group at the Moscow State University (MSU) in Moscow, Russia. Braginsky and his group are members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and they propose to continue research on topics of great interest to the LIGO project to which the group has made outstanding contributions over the years. They will perform both experimental and theoretical research in two main areas of great interest to the LIGO project. The experimental portion of their research will focus on: 1) identifying and measuring the excess noise (noise of non-thermal origin) due to mirror coatings, electric charging of the mirrors, and interaction of mirrors and the surrounding structures; 2) in-depth searches for new unknown sources of noise of nonlinear origin; and 3) methods for modeling and controlling dynamic instabilities that can appear in the interferometers due to coupling of their high-Q mechanical and optical degrees of freedom caused by the high optical power in the interferometer arms. They will also continue theoretical and experimental investigations of novel optical topologies as well as new methods of quantum measurements that might be applied in the future to Advanced LIGO to allow operation at sensitivities below the Standard Quantum Limit. While most of the research will be carried out at MSU, Braginsky and his colleagues will be in frequent close contact with LIGO Laboratory and LSC members through visits and regular reports.
Progress in the supported research program will contribute to the success of Advanced LIGO in opening the new gravitational wave window on the universe. The members of the MSU group are committed to combining first-rate education with their research. The faculty members in the group will continue to incorporate LIGO concepts and research results into their technical lectures for students and for colleagues working in other fields of science; they will continue to involve undergraduate and graduate students in their theoretical and experimental research; and they will continue to give public lectures about LIGO and the LSC's research, including lectures aimed at high school students.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The goal of this grant was to engage Professor Vladimir Braginsky and his research group at Moscow State University (MSU) to develop techniques for improving the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors, in support of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) project and its next generation of detectors (known as Advanced LIGO). Professor Braginsky and his group have been leading researchers in this field for nearly four decades, with particular expertise in two fundamental areas of great importance to gravitational wave detectors: 1) how the quantum nature of matter limits the sensitivity of physical measurements (the so-called Standard Quantum Limit), and 2) how thermal noise (noise due to the fact that matter at a finite temperature is in continual motion) enter gravitational wave detectors.
Their earlier experiments to understand thermal noise gave the MSU group both the understanding and the equipment needed study other potentially important sources of noise. A particular achievement during this grant was that they recognized that the electrostatic actuators used to control the mirrors in the Advanced LIGO detectors could be a source of excess noise due to stray electrostatic charges. They performed a number of experiments to characterize the accumulation of static charges on fused silica (the material used for the Advanced LIGO mirrors) and to study the mobility of charges on the surface. The outcome of these experiments was to identify the conditions under which stray electrical charges would be a significant source of noise for the Advanced LIGO detectors and to develop techniques that could be used to control and mitigate charging.
The Moscow State University group also developed several new theoretical techniques for circumventing the Standard Quantum Limit. The two most promising of these techniques are:
- Speedmeters, in which one measure the relative speed of the mirrors in the interferometer instead of measuring their position, and
- Optical springs, in which the radiation pressure of the light in an interferometer has a force component proportional to the position of the mirror, turning the nominally free mass mirror into a quantum oscillator.
A major effort of the MSU group has been to collaborate with other groups around the world to assess the challenges to convert these theoretical ideas to practical implementations.
Taken together, these outcomes will impact both the Advanced LIGO detectors which are currently being commissioned by the LIGO Laboratory and the longer-term future evolution of the field as gravitational waves become a unique way to study energetic astrophysical phenomena.
Last Modified: 09/15/2014
Modified by: Stanley E Whitcomb
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
