Optical torques in suspended Fabry–Perot interferometers

High-power Fabry–Perot cavities with suspended mirrors are employed in gravitational wave detection. The mirrors in such interferometers are subject to forces and torques that are exerted by light pressure. This Letter derives a closed-form expression for the static torsional stiffness due to this e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysics letters. A Vol. 354; no. 3; pp. 167 - 172
Main Authors Sidles, John A., Sigg, Daniel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 29.05.2006
Subjects
Fabry–Perot
Mirrors
Optomechanical
Torque
Torsion
Torque
Fabry–Perot
07.60.Ly
Optomechanical
04.80.Nn
Mirrors
Torsion
95.55.Ym
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:High-power Fabry–Perot cavities with suspended mirrors are employed in gravitational wave detection. The mirrors in such interferometers are subject to forces and torques that are exerted by light pressure. This Letter derives a closed-form expression for the static torsional stiffness due to this effect. The torsional stiffness is shown to scale as the fourth power of the beam spot size. In proposed designs for next-generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors the torsional stiffness is shown to be large enough to dominate the dynamics of the mirror suspensions.
ISSN:0375-9601
1873-2429
DOI:10.1016/j.physleta.2006.01.051