Analysis of the Photoacoustic Helmholtz Resonator with Conical-Ended Duct

Q-factor of photoacoustic Helmholtz cells can be improved by modification of the duct ends. The paper describes how mechanical modification of the duct ends affects the photoacoustic Helmholtz resonator. The cone profile of the duct ends was studied and, according to previous work, the linear modification of the cone parameter does not result in a linear increase of the resonator Q-factor and resonance frequency. The influence of the conical modification, cone length and angle was investigated using the computer simulations based on the stepped-approximated model

Design and implementation of a seismic Newtonian-noise cancellation system for the Virgo gravitational-wave detector

Terrestrial gravity perturbations caused by seismic fields produce the so-called Newtonian noise in gravitational-wave detectors, which is predicted to limit their sensitivity in the upcoming observing runs. In the past, this noise was seen as an infrastructural limitation, i.e., something that cannot be overcome without major investments to improve a detector's infrastructure. However, it is possible to have at least an indirect estimate of this noise by using the data from a large number of seismometers deployed around a detector's suspended test masses. The noise estimate can be subtracted from the gravitational-wave data; a process called Newtonian-noise cancellation (NNC). In this article, we present the design and implementation of the first NNC system at the Virgo detector as part of its AdV+ upgrade. It uses data from 110 vertical geophones deployed inside the Virgo buildings in optimized array configurations. We use a separate tiltmeter channel to test the pipeline in a proof-of-principle. The system has been running with good performance over months