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Papers

A Gravitational wave observatory operating beyond the quantum shot-noise limit: Squeezed light in application

  • Author오정근
  • JournalNAT PHYS 7 (2011
  • Classification of papersSCI
Around the globe several observatories are seeking the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). These
waves are predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity [Einstein, A., Annalen der Physik 49, 769-822
(1916)] and are generated e.g. by black-hole binary systems [Sathyaprakash, B. S. and Schutz, B. F., Living
Rev. Relativity 12, 2 (2009)]. Current GW detectors are Michelson-type kilometer-scale laser interferometers
measuring the distance changes between in vacuum suspended mirrors. The sensitivity of these detectors at
frequencies above several hundred hertz is limited by the vacuum (zero-point) fluctuations of the
electromagnetic field. A quantum technology - the injection of squeezed light [Caves, C. M., Phys. Rev. D 23,
1693-1708 (1981)] - offers a solution to this problem. Here we demonstrate the squeezed-light enhancement
of GEO600, which will be the GW observatory operated by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in its search for GWs
for the next 3-4 years. GEO600 now operates with its best ever sensitivity, which proves the usefulness of
quantum entanglement and the qualification of squeezed light as a key technology for future GW astronomy.
Around the globe several observatories are seeking the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs). These
waves are predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity [Einstein, A., Annalen der Physik 49, 769-822
(1916)] and are generated e.g. by black-hole binary systems [Sathyaprakash, B. S. and Schutz, B. F., Living
Rev. Relativity 12, 2 (2009)]. Current GW detectors are Michelson-type kilometer-scale laser interferometers
measuring the distance changes between in vacuum suspended mirrors. The sensitivity of these detectors at
frequencies above several hundred hertz is limited by the vacuum (zero-point) fluctuations of the
electromagnetic field. A quantum technology - the injection of squeezed light [Caves, C. M., Phys. Rev. D 23,
1693-1708 (1981)] - offers a solution to this problem. Here we demonstrate the squeezed-light enhancement
of GEO600, which will be the GW observatory operated by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in its search for GWs
for the next 3-4 years. GEO600 now operates with its best ever sensitivity, which proves the usefulness of
quantum entanglement and the qualification of squeezed light as a key technology for future GW astronomy.