The success of the VIRGO interferometer to detect gravitational waves, starting from a few Hz, depends on the ability of its suspension systems to isolate the test masses from seismic noise and to maintain them actively at a working position with relative displacement of ∼ 10-12 m rms on a time scale of several hours. For this purpose, considerable development effort has been dedicated to realize a multi-stage vibration isolator to suspend the test masses: the SuperAttenuator (SA). It has been designed to provide an attenuation of more than 10 orders of magnitude starting from about 4 Hz. Hierarchical control forces, exerted via coil-magnet actuators placed at three different stages of the SA, damp the fundamental mechanical modes of the system (all below 2 Hz) and maintain the relative orientation and position of the test mass for interferometer alignment and locking. In this Letter a description of the SA is given and recent experimental results are presented. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Dattilo, V., Cuoco, E., the Virgo, C. (2003). The VIRGO suspensions: Design and recent performance measurements. PHYSICS LETTERS A, 318(3), 192-198 [10.1016/j.physleta.2003.07.012].
The VIRGO suspensions: Design and recent performance measurements
Cuoco E.;
2003
Abstract
The success of the VIRGO interferometer to detect gravitational waves, starting from a few Hz, depends on the ability of its suspension systems to isolate the test masses from seismic noise and to maintain them actively at a working position with relative displacement of ∼ 10-12 m rms on a time scale of several hours. For this purpose, considerable development effort has been dedicated to realize a multi-stage vibration isolator to suspend the test masses: the SuperAttenuator (SA). It has been designed to provide an attenuation of more than 10 orders of magnitude starting from about 4 Hz. Hierarchical control forces, exerted via coil-magnet actuators placed at three different stages of the SA, damp the fundamental mechanical modes of the system (all below 2 Hz) and maintain the relative orientation and position of the test mass for interferometer alignment and locking. In this Letter a description of the SA is given and recent experimental results are presented. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
