Finesse and mirror speed measurement for a suspended Fabry-Perot cavity using the ringing effect

We here present an investigation of the ringing effect observed on the VIRGO mode-cleaner prototype MC30. The results of a numerical calculation show how a simple empirical formula can determine the cavity expansion rate from the oscillatory behavior. We also show how the simulation output can be adjusted to estimate the finesse value of the suspended cavity.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

The status of VIRGO

In this paper the main characteristics of the interferometric gravitational waves detector Virgo are presented as well as its present status and perspectives