Feedforward correction of mirror misalignment fluctuations for the GEO 600 gravitational wave detector

The core instrument of the GEO 600 gravitational wave detector is a Michelson interferometer with folded arms. The five main optics that form this interferometer are suspended in vacuum by triple pendulums with quasi-monolithic lower stages of fused silica. After installation of these pendulums in early 2003, a larger than expected coupling of longitudinal ground motion to tilt misalignment of the suspended optics was observed. Because of this, the uncontrolled misalignment of the optics during average conditions was several µrad Hz−1/2 in the frequency band around the pendulum resonance frequencies (0.5–4 Hz). In addition, it was found that longitudinal control signals applied to the intermediate pendulum stages also resulted in excessive mirror tilt. The resulting misalignment exceeded the level tolerable for stable operation of GEO 600. In order to reduce the level of mirror tilt, a bipartite feedforward system was implemented. One part feeds signals derived from seismic measurements to piezo-electric crystals in the stacks supporting the suspensions, reducing the longitudinal motion of the uppermost suspension points. The other applies tilt correction signals, derived from longitudinal control signals, to the intermediate level of the suspensions. The seismic feedforward correction reduces the root-mean-squared tilt misalignment of each main optic between 0.1 and 5 Hz by about 10 dB, typically. The intermediate-mass feedforward correction reduces the differential tilt misalignment of the Michelson interferometer by about 10 dB between 0.1 and 0.8 Hz, typically.

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