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. 2016 Jun 10;116(23):231101.
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.231101. Epub 2016 Jun 7.

Sub-Femto-g Free Fall for Space-Based Gravitational Wave Observatories: LISA Pathfinder Results

M Armano  1 , H Audley  2 , G Auger  3 , J T Baird  4 , M Bassan  5 , P Binetruy  3 , M Born  2 , D Bortoluzzi  6 , N Brandt  7 , M Caleno  8 , L Carbone  9 , A Cavalleri  10 , A Cesarini  9 , G Ciani  9 , G Congedo  9 , A M Cruise  11 , K Danzmann  2 , M de Deus Silva  1 , R De Rosa  12 , M Diaz-Aguiló  13 , L Di Fiore  14 , I Diepholz  2 , G Dixon  11 , R Dolesi  9 , N Dunbar  15 , L Ferraioli  16 , V Ferroni  9 , W Fichter  17 , E D Fitzsimons  18 , R Flatscher  7 , M Freschi  1 , A F García Marín  2 , C García Marirrodriga  8 , R Gerndt  7 , L Gesa  13 , F Gibert  9 , D Giardini  16 , R Giusteri  9 , F Guzmán  2 , A Grado  19 , C Grimani  20 , A Grynagier  17 , J Grzymisch  8 , I Harrison  21 , G Heinzel  2 , M Hewitson  2 , D Hollington  4 , D Hoyland  11 , M Hueller  9 , H Inchauspé  3 , O Jennrich  8 , P Jetzer  22 , U Johann  7 , B Johlander  8 , N Karnesis  2 , B Kaune  2 , N Korsakova  2 , C J Killow  23 , J A Lobo  13 , I Lloro  13 , L Liu  9 , J P López-Zaragoza  13 , R Maarschalkerweerd  21 , D Mance  16 , V Martín  13 , L Martin-Polo  1 , J Martino  3 , F Martin-Porqueras  1 , S Madden  8 , I Mateos  13 , P W McNamara  8 , J Mendes  21 , L Mendes  1 , A Monsky  2 , D Nicolodi  9 , M Nofrarias  13 , S Paczkowski  2 , M Perreur-Lloyd  23 , A Petiteau  3 , P Pivato  9 , E Plagnol  3 , P Prat  3 , U Ragnit  8 , B Raïs  3 , J Ramos-Castro  24 , J Reiche  2 , D I Robertson  23 , H Rozemeijer  8 , F Rivas  13 , G Russano  9 , J Sanjuán  13 , P Sarra  25 , A Schleicher  7 , D Shaul  4 , J Slutsky  26 , C F Sopuerta  13 , R Stanga  27 , F Steier  2 , T Sumner  4 , D Texier  1 , J I Thorpe  26 , C Trenkel  15 , M Tröbs  2 , H B Tu  9 , D Vetrugno  9 , S Vitale  9 , V Wand  2 , G Wanner  2 , H Ward  23 , C Warren  15 , P J Wass  4 , D Wealthy  15 , W J Weber  9 , L Wissel  2 , A Wittchen  2 , A Zambotti  6 , C Zanoni  6 , T Ziegler  7 , P Zweifel  16
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Free article

Sub-Femto-g Free Fall for Space-Based Gravitational Wave Observatories: LISA Pathfinder Results

M Armano et al. Phys Rev Lett. .
Free article

Abstract

We report the first results of the LISA Pathfinder in-flight experiment. The results demonstrate that two free-falling reference test masses, such as those needed for a space-based gravitational wave observatory like LISA, can be put in free fall with a relative acceleration noise with a square root of the power spectral density of 5.2±0.1 fm s^{-2}/sqrt[Hz], or (0.54±0.01)×10^{-15} g/sqrt[Hz], with g the standard gravity, for frequencies between 0.7 and 20 mHz. This value is lower than the LISA Pathfinder requirement by more than a factor 5 and within a factor 1.25 of the requirement for the LISA mission, and is compatible with Brownian noise from viscous damping due to the residual gas surrounding the test masses. Above 60 mHz the acceleration noise is dominated by interferometer displacement readout noise at a level of (34.8±0.3) fm/sqrt[Hz], about 2 orders of magnitude better than requirements. At f≤0.5 mHz we observe a low-frequency tail that stays below 12 fm s^{-2}/sqrt[Hz] down to 0.1 mHz. This performance would allow for a space-based gravitational wave observatory with a sensitivity close to what was originally foreseen for LISA.

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