Optical Trapping of Microdisks for Detection of Gravitational Waves

POSTER

Abstract

We present an update on the Levitated Sensor Detector (LSD) project for detection of high frequency (10-100kHz) gravitational waves above the region previously probed by LIGO. Motivated sources of gravitational waves in this frequency range include superradiance from QCD axion clouds around black holes. The experiment will make use of optically-levitated flat dielectric micro-scale particles as force sensors with the advantage of reduced photon recoil heating. We therefore discuss initial experimental trapping and cooling results of high-aspect-ratio NaYF4 hexagonal prisms, and we examine the experimental progress of the 1-meter LSD prototype that is in construction at Northwestern University.

Publication: G. Winstone, Z. Wang, S. Klomp, G. R. Felsted, A. Laeuger, C. Gupta, D. Grass, N. Aggarwal, J. Sprague, P. J. Pauzauskie, S. L. Larson, V. Kalogera, and A. A. Geraci (LSD Collaboration), Optical trapping of high-aspect-ratio NaYF hexagonal prisms for kHz-MHz gravitational wave detectors, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 053604 (2022).

N. Aggarwal, G. P. Winstone, M. Teo, M. Baryakhtar, S. L. Larson, V. Kalogera, and A. A. Geraci, Searching for new physics with a levitated-sensor-based gravitational-wave detector, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 111101 (2022).

A. Arvanitaki and A. A. Geraci, Detecting high-frequency gravitational waves with optically levitated sensors, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 071105 (2013).

Presenters

  • Shelby Klomp

    Northwestern University

Authors

  • Shelby Klomp

    Northwestern University

  • Aaron Wang

    Northwestern University

  • George P Winstone

    Northwestern University

  • Greg Felsted

    University of Washington

  • Andrew S Laeuger

    Northwestern University

  • Daniel Grass

    Northwestern University

  • Jacob Sprague

    Northwestern University

  • Peter Pauzauskie

    University of Washington

  • Nancy Aggarwal

    Northwestern University

  • Shane L Larson

    Northwestern University

  • Vicky Kalogera

    Northwestern University

  • Andrew A Geraci

    Northwestern University