Quantum Backaction on kg-Scale Mirrors: Observation of Radiation Pressure Noise in the Advanced Virgo Detector

authored by
The Virgo Collaboration , F. Acernese, M. Agathos, L. Aiello, A. Ain, A. Allocca, A. Amato, S. Ansoldi, S. Antier, M. Arène, N. Arnaud, S. Ascenzi, P. Astone, F. Aubin, S. Babak, F. Badaracco, M. K.M. Bader, S. Bagnasco, J. Baird, G. Ballardin, G. Baltus, C. Barbieri, P. Barneo, F. Barone, M. Barsuglia, D. Barta, A. Basti, M. Bawaj, M. Bazzan, M. Bejger, I. Belahcene, S. Bernuzzi, D. Bersanetti, A. Bertolini, M. Bischi, M. Bitossi, M. A. Bizouard, O. Blanch, F. Bobba, M. Boer, G. Bogaert, M. Boldrini, F. Bondu, R. Bonnand, B. A. Boom, V. Boschi, V. Boudart, Y. Bouffanais, H. Vahlbruch, H. Lück, K. Danzmann, Moritz Mehmet
Abstract

The quantum radiation pressure and the quantum shot noise in laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors constitute a macroscopic manifestation of the Heisenberg inequality. If quantum shot noise can be easily observed, the observation of quantum radiation pressure noise has been elusive, so far, due to the technical noise competing with quantum effects. Here, we discuss the evidence of quantum radiation pressure noise in the Advanced Virgo gravitational wave detector. In our experiment, we inject squeezed vacuum states of light into the interferometer in order to manipulate the quantum backaction on the 42 kg mirrors and observe the corresponding quantum noise driven displacement at frequencies between 30 and 70 Hz. The experimental data, obtained in various interferometer configurations, is tested against the Advanced Virgo detector quantum noise model which confirmed the measured magnitude of quantum radiation pressure noise.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Gravitation Physics
QuantumFrontiers
External Organisation(s)
Universita di Salerno
Monte S. Angelo University Federico II
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Gran Sasso Science Institute
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
Sezione di Pisa
University of Pisa
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
University of Udine
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
Université Paris-Saclay
European Gravitational Observatory (EGO)
University Grenoble-Alpes (UGA)
National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef)
University of Liege
University of Milan - Bicocca
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
Universitat de Barcelona
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
University of Perugia
University of Padova
Sezione di Padova
Instytut Chemii Bioorganicznej Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Sezione di Genova
University of Urbino "Carlo Bo"
University of Florence (UniFi)
Université Côte d'Azur
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
Sapienza Università di Roma
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)
Type
Article
Journal
Physical review letters
Volume
125
ISSN
0031-9007
Publication date
22.09.2020
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General Physics and Astronomy
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.131101 (Access: Open)