Metsource requirements---is frequency stabilization.pdfVIP

Metsource requirements—is frequency stabilization needed? METGAUGE MEMO FREQ-STAB DRAFT—Robert Spero—DRAFT 12.0 June 99 1 Introduction The baseline Metsource includes a frequency stabilization control system for the Lightwave NPRO laser. The stabilization is very effective, but it adds complexity, especially in conjunction with some of the frequency modulation systems under study. In a defining memo written in 1996 [1], a frequency stability requirement was derived by considering the effect of different paths being mea- sured over slightly different durations, the timing difference being an artifact of cyclic averaging. Since then, alternative periodic nonlinearity mitigation schemes have come under consideration, some of which do not require cyclic averaging. This memo estimates the frequency stability re- quirement imposed by the delays inherent in multi-gauge comparisons, emphasizing delays that are present even in the absence of cyclic averaging. Imagine a version of SIM that is perfectly stable mechanically, but that is measured by gauges based on a single laser whose wavelength λ fluctuates. The gauges measure L1 and L2, the fixed “external” interferometric baseline and the adjustable “internal” path. Although the L’s are con- stant in our hypothetical stable observatory, wavelength fluctuations ?λ cause fluctuating gauge outputs ?L1;2. The astrometrically relevant quantity is P = L1 L2 : (1) Taylor expanding to first order, ?P = L2?L1L1?L2 L 2 2 (2)= L2 L1  ?L1 L1 ?L2 L2  : (3) Given that the wavelength is the “yardstick,” ?λ λ = ?L1 L1 = ?L2 L2 ; (4) 1 Quantity Description Nominal Value λ Laser wavelength 1:3
106 μ ν0 c=λ 2:31
1014 Hz τO Astrometric observation time 100 sec to 10 4 sec f1 (2τO)1 τB On-board averaging time 10 2 sec to 1 sec f2 (2τB)1 fH Heterodyne frequency 10 5 Hz τH 1= fH f3 fH=2 L Separation between fiducials 10 m Table 1: Parameters and their values and the terms on the right hand side of Equation 3 cancel. This is the well-kno