Advanced LIGO

Aasi, J. and Abbott, B. P. and Abbott, R. and Abbott, T. and Abernathy, M. R. and Ackley, K. and Adams, C. and Adams, T. and Addesso, P. and Adhikari, R. X. and Adya, V. and Affeldt, C. and Aggarwal, N. and Aguiar, O. D. and Ain, A. and Ajith, P. and Alemic, A. and Allen, B. and Amariutei, D. and Anderson, S. B. and Anderson, W. G. and Arai, K. and Araya, M. C. and Arceneaux, C. and Areeda, J. S. and Ashton, G. and Ast, S. and Aston, S. M. and Aufmuth, P. and Aulbert, C. and Frei, Zsolt and Gergely, Árpád László and Gondán, László and Raffai, Péter and Szeifert, Gábor (2015) Advanced LIGO. CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM GRAVITY, 32 (7). ISSN 0264-9381

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Abstract

The Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors are second-generation instruments designed and built for the two LIGO observatories in Hanford, WA and Livingston, LA, USA. The two instruments are identical in design, and are specialized versions of a Michelson interferometer with 4 km long arms. As in Initial LIGO, Fabry-Perot cavities are used in the arms to increase the interaction time with a gravitational wave, and power recycling is used to increase the effective laser power. Signal recycling has been added in Advanced LIGO to improve the frequency response. In the most sensitive frequency region around 100 Hz, the design strain sensitivity is a factor of 10 better than Initial LIGO. In addition, the low frequency end of the sensitivity band is moved from 40 Hz down to 10 Hz. All interferometer components have been replaced with improved technologies to achieve this sensitivity gain. Much better seismic isolation and test mass suspensions are responsible for the gains at lower frequencies. Higher laser power, larger test masses and improved mirror coatings lead to the improved sensitivity at mid and high frequencies. Data collecting runs with these new instruments are planned to begin in mid-2015.

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