Physical Society Colloquium

Quantum opportunities in gravitational wave detectors

Nergis Mavalvala

Department of Physics
MIT

Interferometric gravitational wave detectors are poised to launch a new era of gravitational wave astronomy and unprecedented tests of general relativity. But a new generation of detectors, currently under construction, also provide opportunities for studying limits posed by quantum measurement on macroscopic scales. The sensitivity of next generation interferometric gravitational wave detectors is expected to be almost entirely limited by quantum mechanics. We will explore the quantum limit and describe experimental progress toward circumventing it. These experiments not only lay the foundations for higher sensitivity future detectors, but also serve as testbeds for quantum measurement on unprecedented macroscopic scales.