Investigation of methods and materials to reduce coating thermal noise in gravitational waves detect

This project aims to carry out the design, fabrication and implementation of novel mirror coatings for low mechanical loss, high-reflectance and wide-band gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Since their detection in 2015, the study of GWs generated from known space phenomena – or new undiscovered ones – is considered a novel way to understand the Universe, providing unique information from remote places along the Universe being unreachable by state-of-the-art telescopes and space vehicles. This project aims to develop metal oxide coatings to upgrade the second generation of room-temperature mirrors used in advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) and to offer the best alternative for the third generation of cryogenic GW detectors expected to be used in Einstein Telescope (ET) observatory.
The ambitious investigation proposed here focuses on the reduction of the thermal noise observed in mirror coatings at the range of frequencies where GWs detectors are more sensitive. To this end, this project will be developed at University of the West of Scotland (UWS) led by Dr. Carlos Garcia, in collaboration with Dr. Martin at the Institute for Gravitational Research (University of Glasgow), Prof. Reid (University of Strathclyde), and Professor Basilio Javier Garcia (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). In 2020, the next generation of mirrors will be implemented in the main GW detector facilities, making this investigation to be an interesting matter of research for the required technology. Therefore, it is timely to investigate mechanisms governing coating thermal noise, and to explore new
deposition techniques/materials to produce homogenous coatings with high reflectance.