Thermal noise computation of arbitrary masses in optical interferometers from first principles

authored by

Johannes Dickmann

Abstract

Thermal noise of optical components is one of the sensitivity limiting effects in gravitational wave detectors, laser stabilization cavities and many other experiments in basic research. However, current methods for the computation of thermal noise are limited for an application in either infinitely large or symmetrically illuminated masses. I present a general method of computing thermal noise of arbitrary finite-sized masses in optical interferometers. The presented approach generalizes state-of-the-art methods for an application in arbitrary shaped optical elements illuminated by arbitrary spatial light distributions. Furthermore, I show the application of the presented approach to compute thermal noise of maladjusted mirrors in Fabry-Perot interferometers. It is shown that the noise can be reduced by off-axis illumination in the case of thin mirrors.

External Organisation(s)

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Type

Article

Journal

Optics express

Volume

29

Pages

36546-36558

No. of pages

13

ISSN

1094-4087

Publication date

25.10.2021

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.438507 (Access: Open)