Point Absorber Limits to Future Gravitational-Wave Detectors
Point Absorber Limits to Future Gravitational-Wave Detectors
High-quality optical resonant cavities require low optical loss, typically on the scale of parts per million. However, unintended micron-scale contaminants on the resonator mirrors that absorb the light circulating in the cavity can deform the surface thermoelastically and thus increase losses by scattering light out of the resonant mode. The …