Increased Sensitivity of Higher-Order Laser Beams to Mode Mismatches

Abstract

This manuscript derives explicit factors linking mode-mismatch-induced power losses, in Hermite-Gauss optical modes to the losses of the fundamental spatial mode. Higher order modes are found to be more sensitive to beam parameter mismatches. This is particularly relevant for gravitational-wave detectors, where lasers employing higher-order optical modes have been proposed to mitigate thermal noise and quantum-enhanced detectors are very susceptible to losses. This work should inform mode matching and squeezing requirements for \textit{Advanced+} and \textit{Third Generation} detectors.

Main text has 3 pages including references. Two supplementary files are provided, one PDF which is incorporated into the main pdf (2 pages) and one python file. Two figures and one table are contained in the main text