1,320 research outputs found
General relativistic treatment of LISA optical links
LISA is a joint space mission of the NASA and the ESA for detecting low
frequency gravitational waves in the band Hz. In order to attain
the requisite sensitivity for LISA, the laser frequency noise must be
suppressed below the other secondary noises such as the optical path noise,
acceleration noise etc. This is achieved by combining time-delayed data for
which precise knowledge of time-delays is required. The gravitational field,
mainly that of the Sun and the motion of LISA affect the time-delays and the
optical links. Further, the effect of the gravitational field of the Earth on
the orbits of spacecraft is included. This leads to additional flexing over and
above that of the Sun. We have written a numerical code which computes the
optical links, that is, the time-delays with great accuracy
metres - more than what is required for time delay interferometry (TDI) - for
most of the orbit and with sufficient accuracy within metres for an
integrated time window of about six days, when one of the arms tends to be
tangent to the orbit. Our analysis of the optical links is fully general
relativistic and the numerical code takes into account effects such as the
Sagnac, Shapiro delay, etc.. We show that with the deemed parameters in the
design of LISA, there are symmetries inherent in the configuration of LISA and
in the physics, which may be used effectively to suppress the residual laser
noise in the modified first generation TDI. We demonstrate our results for some
important TDI variables
Radiation Pressure Induced Instabilities in Laser Interferometric Detectors of Gravitational Waves
The large scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors consist of
Fabry-Perot cavities operating at very high powers ranging from tens of kW to
MW for next generations. The high powers may result in several nonlinear
effects which would affect the performance of the detector. In this paper, we
investigate the effects of radiation pressure, which tend to displace the
mirrors from their resonant position resulting in the detuning of the cavity.
We observe a remarkable effect, namely, that the freely hanging mirrors gain
energy continuously and swing with increasing amplitude. It is found that the
`time delay', that is, the time taken for the field to adjust to its
instantaneous equilibrium value, when the mirrors are in motion, is responsible
for this effect. This effect is likely to be important in the optimal operation
of the full-scale interferometers such as VIRGO and LIGO.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, RevTex styl
Optimising the directional sensitivity of LISA
It was shown in a previous work that the data combinations canceling laser
frequency noise constitute a module - the module of syzygies. The cancellation
of laser frequency noise is crucial for obtaining the requisite sensitivity for
LISA. In this work we show how the sensitivity of LISA can be optimised for a
monochromatic source - a compact binary - whose direction is known, by using
appropriate data combinations in the module. A stationary source in the
barycentric frame appears to move in the LISA frame and our strategy consists
of "coherently tracking" the source by appropriately "switching" the data
combinations so that they remain optimal at all times. Assuming that the
polarisation of the source is not known, we average the signal over the
polarisations. We find that the best statistic is the `network' statistic, in
which case LISA can be construed of as two independent detectors. We compare
our results with the Michelson combination, which has been used for obtaining
the standard sensitivity curve for LISA, and with the observable obtained by
optimally switching the three Michelson combinations. We find that for sources
lying in the ecliptic plane the improvement in SNR increases from 34% at low
frequencies to nearly 90% at around 20 mHz. Finally we present the
signal-to-noise ratios for some known binaries in our galaxy. We also show
that, if at low frequencies SNRs of both polarisations can be measured, the
inclination angle of the plane of the orbit of the binary can be estimated.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
LISACode : A scientific simulator of LISA
A new LISA simulator (LISACode) is presented. Its ambition is to achieve a
new degree of sophistication allowing to map, as closely as possible, the
impact of the different sub-systems on the measurements. LISACode is not a
detailed simulator at the engineering level but rather a tool whose purpose is
to bridge the gap between the basic principles of LISA and a future,
sophisticated end-to-end simulator. This is achieved by introducing, in a
realistic manner, most of the ingredients that will influence LISA's
sensitivity as well as the application of TDI combinations. Many user-defined
parameters allow the code to study different configurations of LISA thus
helping to finalize the definition of the detector. Another important use of
LISACode is in generating time series for data analysis developments
Time Delay Interferometry for LISA with one arm dysfunctional
In order to attain the requisite sensitivity for LISA - a joint space mission
of the ESA and NASA- the laser frequency noise must be suppressed below the
secondary noises such as the optical path noise, acceleration noise etc. By
combining six appropriately time-delayed data streams containing fractional
Doppler shifts - a technique called time delay interferometry (TDI) - the laser
frequency noise may be adequately suppressed. We consider the general model of
LISA where the armlengths vary with time, so that second generation TDI are
relevant. However, we must envisage the possibility, that not all the optical
links of LISA will be operating at all times, and therefore, we here consider
the case of LISA operating with two arms only. As shown earlier in the
literature, obtaining even approximate solutions of TDI to the general problem
is very difficult. Since here only four optical links are relevant, the
algebraic problem simplifies considerably. We are then able to exhibit a large
number of solutions (from mathematical point of view an infinite number) and
further present an algorithm to generate these solutions
Experimental demonstration of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss mode interferometry
The compatibility of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes with
interferometric technologies commonly used in gravitational wave detectors is
investigated. In this paper we present the first experimental results
concerning the performance of the LG33 mode in optical resonators. We show that
the Pound-Drever-Hall error signal for a LG33 mode in a linear optical
resonator is identical to that of the more commonly used LG00 mode, and
demonstrate the feedback control of the resonator with a LG33 mode. We
succeeded to increase the mode purity of a LG33 mode generated using a
spatial-light modulator from 51% to 99% upon transmission through a linear
optical resonator. We further report the experimental verification that a
triangular optical resonator does not transmit helical LG modes
The Dynamics of Sustained Reentry in a Loop Model with Discrete Gap Junction Resistance
Dynamics of reentry are studied in a one dimensional loop of model cardiac
cells with discrete intercellular gap junction resistance (). Each cell is
represented by a continuous cable with ionic current given by a modified
Beeler-Reuter formulation. For below a limiting value, propagation is found
to change from period-1 to quasi-periodic () at a critical loop length
() that decreases with . Quasi-periodic reentry exists from
to a minimum length () that is also shortening with .
The decrease of is not a simple scaling, but the bifurcation can
still be predicted from the slope of the restitution curve giving the duration
of the action potential as a function of the diastolic interval. However, the
shape of the restitution curve changes with .Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
A How-To for the Mock LISA Data Challenges
The LISA International Science Team Working Group on Data Analysis
(LIST-WG1B) is sponsoring several rounds of mock data challenges, with the
purpose of fostering development of LISA data-analysis capabilities, and of
demonstrating technical readiness for the maximum science exploitation of the
LISA data. The first round of challenge data sets were released at this
Symposium. We describe the models and conventions (for LISA and for
gravitational-wave sources) used to prepare the data sets, the file format used
to encode them, and the tools and resources available to support challenge
participants.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, in Proceedings of the Sixth International LISA
Symposium (AIP, 2006
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