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This innovation will significantly improve the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors

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2024-04-17 16:23:40
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In 2017, the detection of gravitational waves generated by the merger of binary neutron stars marked a significant breakthrough in physics. These waves reveal important information about the universe, from the origin of short gamma ray bursts to the formation of heavy elements.

However, capturing gravitational waves from the merged residue remains a challenge as these waves avoid the detection range of the current detector. However, they can illuminate the internal structure of neutron stars.

The solution may lie in amplifying signals through optical springs and simulating spring behavior using the radiation pressure of light. The Tokyo Institute of Technology's Japan research group, led by associate professors Kentaro Somiya and Dr. Sotatsu Otabe, has proposed an innovation: Kerr effect enhanced optical springs.

In order to make the system more sensitive without requiring more energy, researchers used special techniques in optical equipment. They introduced a material called Kerr medium. This material has a unique characteristic of changing the refractive index of light.

Due to this feature, the device can act as a harder optical spring, thereby enhancing its ability to respond to very subtle changes (such as those caused by gravitational waves) without consuming more energy. Tests have shown that this method increases the hardness of lightweight springs by 1.6 times, enabling the device to detect changes at higher frequencies (from 53 Hz to 67 Hz).

This progress paves the way for the next generation of gravitational wave detectors, which can detect elusive waves to date and provide us with an additional key to understanding the composition of the universe. The proposed design is easy to implement and introduces adjustable parameters into the optomechanical system.

Source: Laser Net

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