Broadband quantum noise reduction via EPR squeezing

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H01235
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 15020:Experimental studies related to particle-, nuclear-, cosmic ray and astro-physics
• Research Institution: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
• Principal Investigator: Leonardi Matteo 国立天文台, 重力波プロジェクト, 助教 (90816448)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: freq. dep. squeezing / filter cavity / quantum optics / gravitational wave / KAGRA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The first detection of gravitational waves in 2015 opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy. With this new field of research, we can explore the universe in previously unknown ways and better comprehend the behavior gravity. To increase the number of detections of gravitational waves, the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors needs to be improved. The most fundamental noise which limits the sensitivity of gravitational wave detector is the quantum noise of light. To suppress this noise, the quantum properties of light need to be manipulated in order to create what is called a squeezed vacuum state.
For the first time in the world, we achieved the production of a frequency dependent squeezed vacuum state with frequency rotation suitable for application in gravitational wave detectors. This result was published on Physical Review Letter (highlighted in Physics and Editor Suggestion) and several press releases were organized to follow-up this result.

Free Research Field

Gravitational Waves and Quantum Optics

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

重力波天文学という新しい研究分野では今後、人類の宇宙に対する理解を深める多くの発見が期待されている。この研究分野を発展させるためには、重力波検出器を改良する必要がある。本研究では、「スクイーズド真空場」と呼ばれる量子状態を低周波で操作することに初めて成功した。この技術は、より多くの重力波イベントの検出につながるだけでなく、光の量子性に関する我々の理解を深めることにもなる。