Publications (23)
Nonequilibrium steady state fluctuations in actively cooled resonators
M. Bonaldi, L. Conti, P. De Gregorio +15
We analyze heat and work fluctuations in the gravitational wave detector AURIGA, modeled as a macroscopic electromechanical oscillator in contact with a thermostat and cooled by an…
Microfabrication of large area high-stress silicon nitride membranes for optomechanical devices
E. Serra, M. Bawaj, A. Borrielli +16
In view of the integration of membrane resonators with more complex MEMS structures, we developed a general fabrication procedure for circular shape SiN membranes using Deep Re…
IGEC2: A 17-month search for gravitational wave bursts in 2005-2007
P. Astone, L. Baggio, M. Bassan +50
We present here the results of a 515 days long run of the IGEC2 observatory, consisting of the four resonant mass detectors ALLEGRO, AURIGA, EXPLORER and NAUTILUS. The reported res…
Quantum motion of a squeezed mechanical oscillator attained via a optomechanical experiment
P. Vezio, A. Chowdhury, M. Bonaldi +7
We experimentally investigate a mechanical squeezed state realized in a parametrically-modulated membrane resonator embedded in an optical cavity. We demonstrate that a quantum cha…
Detection of weak stochastic force in a parametrically stabilized micro opto-mechanical system
A. Pontin, M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli +5
Measuring a weak force is an important task for micro-mechanical systems, both when using devices as sensitive detectors and, particularly, in experiments of quantum mechanics. The…
Selective readout and back-action reduction for wideband acoustic gravitational wave detectors
M. Bonaldi, M. Cerdonio, L. Conti +3
We present the concept of selective readout for broadband resonant mass gravitational wave detectors. This detection scheme is capable of specifically selecting the signal from the…
Correlation between Gamma-Ray bursts and Gravitational Waves
P. Tricarico, A. Ortolan, A. Solaroli +11
The cosmological origin of -ray bursts (GRBs) is now commonly accepted and, according to several models for the central engine, GRB sources should also emit at the same time gr…
Inhomogeneous mechanical losses in micro-oscillators with high reflectivity coating
E. Serra, F. S. Cataliotti, F. Marin +4
We characterize the mechanical quality factor of micro-oscillators covered by a highly reflective coating. We test an approach to the reduction of mechanical losses, that consists…
Quantum signature of a squeezed mechanical oscillator
A. Chowdhury, P. Vezio, M. Bonaldi +7
Some predictions of quantum mechanics are in contrast with the macroscopic realm of everyday experience, in particular those originated by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, enc…
3-mode detection for widening the bandwidth of resonant gravitational wave detectors
L. Baggio, M. Bignotto, M. Bonaldi +16
We have implemented a novel scheme of signal readout for resonant gravitational wave detectors. For the first time, a capacitive resonant transducer has been matched to the signal…
Initial operation of the International Gravitational Event Collaboration
G. A. Prodi, I. S. Heng, Z. A. Allen +46
The International Gravitational Event Collaboration, IGEC, is a coordinated effort by research groups operating gravitational wave detectors working towards the detection of millis…
Control of Recoil Losses in Nanomechanical SiN Membrane Resonators
A. Borrielli, L. Marconi, F. Marin +8
In the context of a recoil damping analysis, we have designed and produced a membrane resonator equipped with a specific on-chip structure working as a "loss shield" for a circular…
Upper limits on gravitational waves emission in association with the Dec 27 2004 giant flare of SGR1806-20
L. Baggio, M. Bignotto, M. Bonaldi +20
At the time when the giant flare of SGR1806-20 occurred, the AURIGA "bar" gw detector was on the air with a noise performance close to stationary gaussian. This allows to set relev…
Quantum nondemolition measurement of optical field fluctuations by optomechanical interaction
A. Pontin, M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli +7
According to quantum mechanics, if we keep observing a continuous variable we generally disturb its evolution. For a class of observables, however, it is possible to implement a so…
Probing gravitational interaction between milligram optomechanical oscillators operating in the quantum regime
M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli, G. Di Giuseppe +12
We present an ongoing optomechanical experiment aimed at detecting gravitational interaction between milligram-scale oscillators, and exploring its interplay with quantum mechanics…
Optical self-cooling of a membrane oscillator in a cavity optomechanical experiment at room temperature
P. Vezio, M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli +5
Thermal noise is a major obstacle to observing quantum behavior in macroscopic systems. To mitigate its effect, quantum optomechanical experiments are typically performed in a cryo…
Probing quantum gravity effects with quantum mechanical oscillators
M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli, A. Chowdhury +13
Phenomenological models aiming to join gravity and quantum mechanics often predict effects that are potentially measurable in refined low-energy experiments. For instance, modified…
An ultra-low dissipation micro-oscillator for quantum opto-mechanics
E. Serra, A. Borrielli, F. S. Cataliotti +5
Generating non-classical states of light by opto-mechanical coupling depends critically on the mechanical and optical properties of micro-oscillators and on the minimization of the…
Feedback cooling of the normal modes of a massive electromechanical system to submillikelvin temperature
A. Vinante, M. Bignotto, M. Bonaldi +13
We apply a feedback cooling technique to simultaneously cool the three electromechanical normal modes of the ton-scale resonant-bar gravitational wave detector AURIGA. The measurin…
Dynamical two-mode squeezing of thermal fluctuations in a cavity opto-mechanical system
A. Pontin, M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli +7
We report the experimental observation of two-mode squeezing in the oscillation quadratures of a thermal micro-oscillator. This effect is obtained by parametric modulation of the o…
Frequency noise cancellation in optomechanical systems for ponderomotive squeezing
A. Pontin, C. Biancofiore, E. Serra +7
Ponderomotive squeezing of the output light of an optical cavity has been recently observed in the MHz range in two different cavity optomechanical devices. Quadrature squeezing be…
chi sup 2_ testing of optimal filters for gravitational wave signals: An experimental implementation
L. Baggio, M. Cerdonio, A. Ortolan +9
We have implemented likelihood testing of the performance of an optimal filter within the online analysis of AURIGA, a sub-Kelvin resonant-bar gravitational wave detector. We demon…
Squeezing a thermal mechanical oscillator by stabilized parametric effect on the optical spring
A. Pontin, M. Bonaldi, A. Borrielli +5
We report the confinement of an optomechanical micro-oscillator in a squeezed thermal state, obtained by parametric modulation of the optical spring. We propose and implement an ex…