"Nonclassical laser interferometry for precision metrology and gravitational wave astronomy" Dr. Michèle Heurs

Dr. Michèle Heurs

Junior Professor

Leibniz Universität Hannover

Abstract

As the second-generation of gravitational wave detectors approach their design sensitivity, the first direct detection of gravitational waves will herald the era of gravitational wave astronomy. By “listening into space” in the gravitational  wave spectrum we will learn more about the origin and content of the universe than has ever been possible before. To achieve this, however, ever-improving detector sensitivity is needed to go beyond advanced detectors. This calls for innovative ways to combat both technical noise sources and the eventually limiting contributions caused by quantum noise. Both directions of work are relevant not only to the gravitational wave detection community, but are also topical for the fields of precision metrology and quantum optics as a whole.

In this colloquium I will first give an overview of the current status of interferometric gravitational wave detection and show the perspectives for gravitational wave astronomy. In the following I will present recent results as well as ongoing experiments in my group, on the topics of nonclassical light sources, stabilisation and controls. The presented methods offer new ways of dealing with existing technical challenges typical for the field of quantum optics and metrology. I will then introduce novel quantum noise reduction schemes that work towards radiation pressure noise cancellation in optomechanical setups.

Biography

Michèle Heurs holds a diploma degree in Physics from the Universität Hannover, Germany. She completed her PhD in Physics on the topic of simultaneous intensity and frequency stabilisation of solid state lasers under the supervision of Prof. Karsten Danzmann at the Institute for Gravitational Physics, Universität Hannover, in December 2004. From 2005 until September 2007 she worked as a Research Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) in Hannover. In October 2007 she commenced a Research Fellowship at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, within the Quantum Electronics group of Prof. Elanor Huntington. She returned to Germany in July 2010 to build her own group "Quantum Control" as a Junior Professor within the Centre of Excellence QUEST (Hannover) at Leibniz Universität Hannover. Her research interests include nonclassical laser interferometry, optomechanics, coherent quantum noise cancellation, and modern controls.