Published December 2020 | Version Published + Submitted
Journal Article Open

Improving the robustness of the advanced LIGO detectors to earthquakes

Creators

Abstract

Teleseismic, or distant, earthquakes regularly disrupt the operation of ground–based gravitational wave detectors such as Advanced LIGO. Here, we present EQ mode, a new global control scheme, consisting of an automated sequence of optimized control filters that reduces and coordinates the motion of the seismic isolation platforms during earthquakes. This, in turn, suppresses the differential motion of the interferometer arms with respect to one another, resulting in a reduction of DARM signal at frequencies below 100 mHz. Our method greatly improved the interferometers' capability to remain operational during earthquakes, with ground velocities up to 3.9 μm s⁻¹ rms in the beam direction, setting a new record for both detectors. This sets a milestone in seismic controls of the Advanced LIGO detectors' ability to manage high ground motion induced by earthquakes, opening a path for further robust operation in other extreme environmental conditions.

Additional Information

© 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. Received 30 July 2020; Revised 11 September 2020; Accepted 29 September 2020; Published 5 November 2020. The authors thank the LIGO Scientific Collaboration for access to the data and gratefully acknowledge the support of the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) for the construction and operation of the LIGO Laboratory and Advanced LIGO as well as the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) of the United Kingdom, and the Max Planck Society (MPS) for support of the construction of Advanced LIGO. Additional support for Advanced LIGO was provided by the Australian Research Council. This project was supported by NSF Grants: PHY-1708006 and PHY-1608922. ES acknowledge the LSC FELLOWS program for supporting his research at LIGO Livingston Observatory. LIGO was constructed by the California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation and operates under cooperative agreement PHY-1764464 . This paper carries LIGO Document Number LIGO-P2000072.

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Published - Schwartz_2020_Class._Quantum_Grav._37_235007.pdf

Submitted - 2007.12847.pdf

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2007.12847.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
106596
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20201110-144418660

Related works

Funding

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Max Planck Society
Australian Research Council
NSF
PHY-1708006
NSF
PHY-1608922
LIGO Laboratory
NSF
PHY-1764464

Dates

Created
2020-11-11
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-11-01
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
LIGO
Other Numbering System Name
LIGO Document
Other Numbering System Identifier
P2000072