4.1 Seismic NoiseGravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry 3.2 Long Baseline Detectors on

4 Main Noise Sources

  In this chapter we discuss the main noise sources which limit the sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Fundamentally it should be possible to build systems using laser interferometry to monitor strains in space which are limited only by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle; however there are other practical issues which must be taken into account. Fluctuating gravitational gradients pose one limitation to the interferometer sensitivity achievable at low frequencies, and it is the level of noise from this source which dictates that experiments to look for sub-Hz gravitational wave signals have to be carried out in space [94, 86, 12, 53]. In general, for ground based detectors the most important limitations to sensitivity result from the effects of seismic and other ground-borne mechanical noise, thermal noise associated with the test masses and their suspensions and shot noise in the photocurrent from the photodiode which detects the interference pattern. The significance of each of these sources will be briefly reviewed.





4.1 Seismic NoiseGravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry 3.2 Long Baseline Detectors on

image Gravitational Wave Detection by Interferometry (Ground and Space)
Sheila Rowan and Jim Hough
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2000-3
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