LISA pathfinder performance confirmed in an open-loop configuration: results from the free-fall actuation mode

Armano, M. et al. (2019) LISA pathfinder performance confirmed in an open-loop configuration: results from the free-fall actuation mode. Physical Review Letters, 123(11), 111101. (doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.111101)

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Abstract

We report on the results of the LISA Pathfinder (LPF) free-fall mode experiment, in which the control force needed to compensate the quasistatic differential force acting on two test masses is applied intermittently as a series of “impulse” forces lasting a few seconds and separated by roughly 350 s periods of true free fall. This represents an alternative to the normal LPF mode of operation in which this balancing force is applied continuously, with the advantage that the acceleration noise during free fall is measured in the absence of the actuation force, thus eliminating associated noise and force calibration errors. The differential acceleration noise measurement presented here with the free-fall mode agrees with noise measured with the continuous actuation scheme, representing an important and independent confirmation of the LPF result. An additional measurement with larger actuation forces also shows that the technique can be used to eliminate actuation noise when this is a dominant factor.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Robertson, Dr David and Korsakova, Dr Natalia and Ward, Professor Henry and Perreur-Lloyd, Mr Michael and Killow, Dr Christian
Authors: Armano, M., Audley, H., Baird, J., Binetruy, P., Born, M., Bortoluzzi, D., Castelli, E., Cavalleri, A., Cesarini, A., Cruise, A. M., Danzmann, K., de Deus Silva, M., Diepholz, I., Dixon, G., Dolesi, R., Ferraioli, L., Ferroni, V., Fitzsimons, E. D., Freschi, M., Gesa, L., Gibert, F., Giardini, D., Giusteri, R., Grimani, C., Grzymisch, J., Harrison, I., Hartig, M.-S., Heinzel, G., Hewitson, M., Hollington, D., Hoyland, D., Hueller, M., Inchauspé, H., Jennrich, O., Jetzer, P., Karnesis, N., Kaune, B., Korsakova, N., Killow, C.J., Lobo, J. A., Liu, L., López-Zaragoza, J. P., Maarschalkerweerd, R., Mance, D., Meshksar, N., Martín, V., Martin-Polo, L., Martino, J., Martin-Porqueras, F., Mateos, I., McNamara, P. W., Mendes, J., Mendes, L., Nofrarias, M., Paczkowski, S., Perreur-Lloyd, M., Petiteau, A., Pivato, P., Plagnol, E., Ramos-Castro, J., Reiche, J., Robertson, D.I., Rivas, F., Russano, G., Slutsky, J., Sopuerta, C. F., Sumner, T., Texier, D., Thorpe, J. I., Vetrugno, D., Vitale, S., Wanner, G., Ward, H., Wass, P. J., Weber, W. J., Wissel, L., Wittchen, A., and Zweifel, P.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Centre:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
Journal Name:Physical Review Letters
Publisher:American Physical Society
ISSN:0031-9007
ISSN (Online):1079-7114
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 American Physical Society
First Published:First published in Physical Review Letters 123(11):111101
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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