OBSERVING MASKED QUANTUM NOISE SIGNALS TO IMPROVE GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION

The hunt for gravitational waves is limited in part by quantum noise. This study was conducted to better evaluate the performance of squeezed light in reducing the effects of quantum noise. In order to observe the effects of the squeezed light, the noise floor of the tabletop experiments needs to be at the quantum limit. Due to the challenge of suppressing thermal noise at room temperature, the cross power spectrum and coherence between two signals are explored as an alternative way to observe quantum noise. This signal processing technique was first tested on signals generated in the lab and then on the tabletop with real laser light. The technique will be implemented directly following the installation of the squeezed light.