Sensitivity function analysis of gravitational wave detection with single-laser and large-momentum-transfer atomic sensors

Recently, a configuration using atomic interferometers （AIs） had been sug- gested for the detection of gravitational waves. A new AI with some additional laser pulses for implementing large momentum transfer was also put forward, in order to reduce the effect of shot noise and laser frequency noise. We use a sensitivity function to analyze all possible configurations of the new AI and to distinguish how many mo- menta are transferred in a specific configuration. By analyzing the new configuration, we further explore a detection scheme for gravitational waves, in particular, that ame- liorates laser frequency noise. We find that the amelioration occurs in such a scheme, but novelly, in some cases, the frequency noise can be canceled completely by using a proper data processing method.

Was LIGO’s Gravitational Wave Detection a False Alarm?

This article presents a new type of whitening filter (allowing the “passing” of some noise sources) applied to process the data recorded in LIGO’s GW150914 and GW151226 events. This new analysis shows that in the GW150914 event, the signals from the collision of two black holes are very similar to the 32.5 Hz noise sources observed in both of LIGO’s detectors. It also points out that these 32.5 Hz noise sources are powered by a 30 Hz sub harmonic, coming from the 60 Hz power system. In the GW1226 event, the same analysis points out that the NR template is very similar to the 120 Hz noise source. Therefore, the signals recorded in these events were probably generated by some small changes with the 60 Hz frequency in the US power grid. This can be caused, for example, by a power variation in the DC link, which can appear in both detectors in the same 10 ms time window. As this kind of power grid occurrence did not change the voltage levels, it may have gone unnoticed by LIGO’s electrical power supply’s monitoring system.

Multifrequency Gravitational Wave Background from Continuous Sources

Gravitational waves have been detected in the past few years from several transient events such as merging stellar mass black holes, binary neutron stars, etc. These waves have frequencies in a band ranging from a few hundred hertz to around a kilohertz to which LIGO type instruments are sensitive. LISA would be sensitive to much lower range of frequencies from SMBH mergers. Apart from these cataclysmic burst events, there are innumerable sources of radiation which are continuously emitting gravitational waves of all frequencies. These include a whole mass range of compact binary and isolated compact objects as well as close planetary stellar entities. In this work, quantitative estimates are made of the gravitational wave background produced in typical frequency ranges from such sources emitting over a Hubble time and the fluctuations in the h values measured in the usual devices. Also estimates are made of the high frequency thermal background gravitational radiation from hot stellar interiors and newly formed compact objects.

Advancing space-based gravitational wave astronomy: Rapid parameter estimation via normalizing flows

Gravitational wave(GW) astronomy is witnessing a transformative shift from terrestrial to space-based detection, with missions like Taiji at the forefront. While the transition brings unprecedented opportunities for exploring massive black hole binaries(MBHBs), it also imposes complex challenges in data analysis, particularly in parameter estimation amidst confusion noise.Addressing this gap, we utilize scalable normalizing flow models to achieve rapid and accurate inference within the Taiji environment. Innovatively, our approach simplifies the data's complexity, employs a transformation mapping to overcome the year-period time-dependent response function, and unveils additional multimodality in the arrival time parameter. Our method estimates MBHBs several orders of magnitude faster than conventional techniques, maintaining high accuracy even in complex backgrounds. These findings significantly enhance the efficiency of GW data analysis, paving the way for rapid detection and alerting systems and enriching our ability to explore the universe through space-based GW observation.

Numerical simulations of the wavefront distortion of inter-spacecraft laser beams caused by solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas

Plasma turbulence may lead to additional wavefront distortion of inter-spacecraft laser beams during the operation of spaceborne gravitational wave(GW)observatories,e.g.Tian Qin.By making use of the Space Weather Modelling Framework(SWMF)model and realistic orbit data for the Tian Qin constellation,the characteristic parameters of the plasma turbulence present at the Tian Qin orbit are obtained.As a first step,this work is based on the assumptions that the cold plasma approximation is valid and that the effects of the electromagnetic field induced by charge separation within the Debye length on the laser's wavefront can be ignored.An atmospheric turbulence-laser interaction model is then applied to analyze the effects of the plasma turbulence on the inter-spacecraft laser's wavefront.The preliminary results show that the wavefront distortion caused by the plasma turbulence is 10^-9 rad,which is significantly less than the designated error budget,i.e.10^-6 rad,and thus will not affect the laser interferometry.

Analysis and suppression of thermal effect of an ultra-stable laser interferometer for space-based gravitational waves detection

In this paper,we present a suppression method for the thermal drift of an ultra-stable laser interferometer.The detailed analysis on the Michelson interferometer indicates that the change in optical path length induced by temperature variation can be effectively reduced by choosing proper thickness and/or incident angle of a compensator.Taking the optical bench of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Pathfinder as an example,we analyze the optical bench model with a compensator and show that the temperature coefficient of this laser interferometer can be reduced down to 1 pm/K with an incident angle of 0.267828 rad.The method presented in this paper can be used in the design of ultra-stable laser interferometers,especially for space-based gravitational waves detection.

Taiji-TianQin-LISA network:Precisely measuring the Hubble constant using both bright and dark sirens

In the coming decades,the space-based gravitational-wave(GW)detectors such as Taiji,TianQin,and LISA are expected to form a network capable of detecting millihertz GWs emitted by the mergers of massive black hole binaries(MBHBs).In this work,we investigate the potential of GW standard sirens from the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network in constraining cosmological parameters.For the optimistic scenario in which electromagnetic(EM)counterparts can be detected,we predict the number of detectable bright sirens based on three different MBHB population models,i.e.,popⅢ,Q3d,and Q3nod.Our results show that the TaijiTianQin-LISA network alone could achieve a constraint precision of 0.9%for the Hubble constant,meeting the standard of precision cosmology.Moreover,the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network could effectively break the cosmological parameter degeneracies generated by the CMB data,particularly in the dynamical dark energy models.When combined with the CMB data,the joint CMB+Taiji-TianQin-LISA data offerσ(w)=0.036 in the wCDM model,which is close to the latest constraint result obtained from the CMB+SN data.We also consider a conservative scenario in which EM counterparts are not available.Due to the precise sky localizations of MBHBs by the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network,the constraint precision of the Hubble constant is expected to reach 1.2%.In conclusion,the GW standard sirens from the Taiji-TianQin-LISA network will play a critical role in helping solve the Hubble tension and shedding light on the nature of dark energy.

Constraining the Hubble constant to a precision of about 1% using multi-band dark standard siren detections

Gravitational wave signal from the inspiral of stellar-mass binary black hole can be used as standard sirens to perform cosmological inference.This inspiral covers a wide range of frequency bands,from the millihertz band to the audio-band,allowing for detections by both space-borne and ground-based gravitational wave detectors.In this work,we conduct a comprehensive study on the ability to constrain the Hubble constant using the dark standard sirens,or gravitational wave events that lack electromagnetic counterparts.To acquire the redshift information,we weight the galaxies within the localization error box with photometric information from several bands and use them as a proxy for the binary black hole redshift.We discover that Tian Qin is expected to constrain the Hubble constant to a precision of roughly 30%through detections of 10 gravitational wave events;in the most optimistic case,the Hubble constant can be constrained to a precision of<10%,assuming Tian Qin I+II.In the optimistic case,the multi-detector network of Tian Qin and LISA is capable of constraining the Hubble constant to within 5%precision.It is worth highlighting that the multi-band network of Tian Qin and Einstein Telescope is capable of constraining the Hubble constant to a precision of about 1%.We conclude that inferring the Hubble constant without bias from photo-z galaxy catalog is achievable,and we also demonstrate self-consistency using the P-P plot.On the other hand,high-quality spectroscopic redshift information is crucial for improving the estimation precision of Hubble constant.

Twistor-based synchronous sliding mode control of spacecraft attitude and position

A synchronous control of relative attitude and position is required in separated ultraquiet spacecraft, such as drag-free, disturbance-free, and distributed spacecraft. Thus, a twistorbased synchronous sliding mode control is investigated in this paper to solve the control problem of relative attitude and position among separated spacecraft modules. The twistor-based control design and the stability proof are implemented using the Modified Rodrigues Parameter（MRP）.To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed control method, this paper presents a case study of separated spacecraft flying control considering the mass uncertainty and external disturbances. In addition, a simulation study of the Proportional-Derivative（PD） control is also presented for comparison. The results indicate that the twistor-based sliding mode controller can ensure global asymptotic stability. The states converge fast with ultra-precision and ultra-stability in both the attitude and position. Moreover, the proposed twistor-based sliding mode control system is robust to the mass uncertainty and external disturbances.

Automatic,long-term frequency-stabilized lasers with sub-hertz linewidth and 10-16 frequency instability

We report two ultra-stable laser systems automatically frequency-stabilized to two high-finesse optical cavities.By employing analog-digital hybrid proportional integral derivative(PID)controllers,we keep the merits of wide servo bandwidth and servo accuracy by using analog circuits for the PID controller,and,at the same time,we realize automatic laser frequency locking by introducing digital logic into the PID controller.The lasers can be automatically frequency-stabilized to their reference cavities,and it can be relocked in 0.3 s when interruption happens,i.e.,blocking and unblocking the laser light.These automatic frequency-stabilized lasers are measured to have a frequency instability of 6×10^(-16)at 1 s averaging time and a most probable linewidth of 0.3 Hz.The laser systems were tested for continuous operation over 11 days.Such ultrastable laser systems in long-term robust operation will be beneficial to the applications of optical atomic clocks and precision measurement based on frequency-stabilized lasers.

Portable system integrated with time comparison, ranging, and communication

We demonstrate a portable system integrated with time comparison,absolute distance ranging,and optical communication(TRC)to meet the requirements of space gravitational wave detection.A 1 km free-space asynchronous two-way optical link is performed.The TRC realizes optical communication with 7.7×10^(−5) bit error rate with a Si avalanche photodiode singlephoton detector,while the signal intensity is 1.4 photons per pulse with the background noise of 3×10^(4) counts per second.The distance measurement uncertainty is 48.3 mm,and time comparison precision is 162.4 ps.In this TRC system,a verticalcavity surface-emitting laser diode with a power of 9.1μW is used,and the equivalent receiving aperture is 0.5 mm.The TRC provides a miniaturization solution for ultra-long distance inter-satellite communication,time comparison,and ranging for space gravitational wave detectors.