LIGO Document T1400511-v1
- due to the mechanical upconversion of the local deformations due to grain slippage or similar microscopic events. It has long been suspected that there are multiple instances of crackling noise in the LIGO Interferometers, and as such, a crackle experiment has been developed where the crackling noise in the maraging steel blades of a Michelson Interferometer will be measured. The steel blades present a straightforward mechanical system which can be driven and stressed easily. Since the crackling noise in LIGO is vertical noise and the coupling to the horizontal motion of the test masses is very small, the vertical noise in the blades are measured directly in the crackle experiment, to have maximum sensitivity to the crackling noise. A proposal for a crackle experiment with increased sensitivity has been proposed, and this project will be concerned with the construction and alignment of the optical setup for the upgraded crackle experiment. Following this, the response of the maraging steel blades will be characterized, and a control system will be developed and implemented to lock the Michelson Interferometer in order to keep it at resonance.
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