Higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes as a robust flat beam in interferometric gravitational wave detectors

Abstract

Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes have previously been investigated as a candidate for reducing test-mass thermal noise in ground-based gravitational-wave detectors like Advanced LIGO. It has been shown however that LG modes' fragility against mirror surface figure imperfections limits their compatibility with the current state-of-the-art test masses. In this paper we explore the alternative of using higher-order Hermite-Gauss (HG) modes for thermal noise reduction, and show that with the deliberate addition of astigmatism they are orders of magnitude more robust against mirror surface distortions than LG modes of equivalent order. We present simulations of Advanced LIGO-like arm cavities with realistic mirror figures which can support HG${}_{33}$ modes with average arm losses and contrast defects in a Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometer configuration which are well below the typical measured values in Advanced LIGO. This demonstrates that the mirror surface flatness errors will not be a limiting factor for the use of these modes in future gravitational-wave detectors.

arXiv comment9 pages, 11 figures, references order and typos corrected

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Power coupling losses for misaligned and mode-mismatched higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes
• Experimental demonstrations of alignment and mode matching in optical cavities with higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes
• Exactly solvable model behind Bose-Hubbard dimers, Ince-Gauss beams, and aberrated optical cavities
• Misalignment and mode mismatch error signals for higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes from two sensing schemes
• Ray and caustic structure of Ince-Gauss beams
• Quantum Super-Resolution with Balanced Homodyne Detection in Low-Earth-Orbit
• Beam displacement tolerances on a segmented mirror for higher-order Hermite-Gauss modes
• Mirror Coating Thermal Noise Mitigation Using Multi-Spatial Mode Cavity Readout
• Thermal Deformation Reduction in High-Power Interferometry with Higher-Order Laser Modes
• Realization of doubly inhomogeneous waveplates for structuring of light beams