Abstract
The ability to directly observe gravitational waves (GW) opens up a whole new window to study our universe and its fundamental laws of physics. Such GW are however extremely weak and to detect them we need very sensitive interferometers capable of measuring displacements 10000 times smaller than the size of a proton. With current generation detectors we can observe several GW per year, originating from the coalescence of compact binary star systems. But to fully exploit the potential of gravitational waves it is crucial to enhance the sensitivity of GW observatories with several orders of magnitude, especially at low frequencies. This requires the usage of new technologies such as different mirror materials, laser wavelengths, and cryogenic temperatures to minimise noise. These new concepts can be studied with ETpathfinder, a R&D infrastructure for testing and prototyping novel technologies for the Einstein Telescope: a future third generation ground based European GW observatory. The aim of this project is to contribute to the construction and development of ETpathfinder, which will be built in Maastricht. In particular, the focus will be on the development of detector control systems that are crucial to monitor and steer ETPathfinder operations with a minimal noise level. More precisely, we will construct and further develop linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) position sensors in combination with voice coil (VC) actuators. These are extremely accurate and crucial to construct seismic attenuation systems for GW detectors. The first objective is to contribute to the construction of LVDT/VC systems for ETpathfinder Phase 1 using state of the art designs. Afterwards we will focus on the development of novel LVDT/VC designs for future detector implementations. Finally we will participate in the commissioning and operation of ETpathfinder Phase 1, and contribute to first detector performance measurements. The research conducted in this project will lead to significant contributions to the ETpathfinder experiment, and will consolidate our knowledge in LVDT/VC systems. It can furthermore lead to improved LVDT/VC designs suitable for future GW observatories.
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