Hong-Ou-Mandel Gravitational Wave Space Detector
- Paper number
IAC-17,A7,3,6,x38582
- Author
Mr. Clovis de Matos, European Space Agency (ESA), France
- Coauthor
Prof. Martin Tajmar, TU Dresden, Germany
- Year
2017
- Abstract
Michelson type gravitational wave detectors measure the strain caused by gravitational waves on the interferometer's harms. Gravitational waves can also cause the rotation of photon's linear polarization vector, thus disturbing the interference of entangled photons in Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometers. Here one proposes to use that experimental approach for the detection of gravitational waves through the implementation of a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer in Earth geostationary orbit with a constellation of three different spacecraft in accurate formation flight - The HOM mission. HOM gravitational wave detectors will cover the part of the gravitational wave spectrum with wavelength $\lambda=10^4$ km, which falls between the long wavelength detection range of LISA, $\lambda=10^6$ km, and of ground based detectors like LIGO, $\lambda=10^2$ km. With respect to Michelson type detectors, the proposed concept for the detection of gravitational waves has the advantage of operating without the need of drag free satellites, which makes the architecture of HOM space interferometers simpler with respect to Michelson detectors. This paper will describe the HOM mission concept in general and the main elements of the payload and spacecraft design in particular.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-17,A7,3,6,x38582.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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