Experimental results for nulling the effective thermal expansion coefficient of fused silica fibres under a static stress

Bell, C. J., Reid, S., Faller, J., Hammond, G. D. , Hough, J. , Martin, I. W. , Rowan, S. and Tokmakov, K. V. (2014) Experimental results for nulling the effective thermal expansion coefficient of fused silica fibres under a static stress. Classical and Quantum Gravity, 31(6), 065010. (doi: 10.1088/0264-9381/31/6/065010)

Abstract

We have experimentally demonstrated that the effective thermal expansion coefficient of a fused silica fibre can be nulled by placing the fibre under a particular level of stress. Our technique involves heating the fibre and measuring how the fibre length changes with temperature as the stress on the fibre was systematically varied. This nulling of the effective thermal expansion coefficient should allow for the complete elimination of thermoelastic noise and is essential for allowing second generation gravitational wave detectors to reach their target sensitivity. To our knowledge this is the first time that the cancelation of the thermal expansion coefficient with stress has been experimentally observed.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bell, Mr Christopher and Rowan, Professor Sheila and Martin, Dr Iain and Hammond, Professor Giles and Hough, Professor James and Faller, Professor James and Reid, Professor Stuart and Tokmakov, Dr Kirill
• Authors: Bell, C. J., Reid, S., Faller, J., Hammond, G. D., Hough, J., Martin, I. W., Rowan, S., and Tokmakov, K. V.
• 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: Classical and Quantum Gravity
• Publisher: Institute of Physics
• ISSN: 0264-9381
• ISSN (Online): 1361-6382
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2014 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Classical and Quantum Gravity 31(6):065010
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License