A new technique uses an ‘anti-noise’ signal to cancel out the unavoidable quantum noise associated with precision measurements like those needed for gravitational-wave detection.
When light is used to detect motion with high-precision—for example, in accelerometers or gravitational-wave detectors—its ultimate sensitivity is limited by quantum noise, which is unavoidable. A research team has now demonstrated a tabletop device that can reduce the disruption of quantum noise by modifying a light beam before using it to make a measurement [1]. This beam preparation cancels out the noise in a manner reminiscent of noise-canceling headphones [1]. Working across a wide frequency range and potentially offering up to 77% noise reduction, the system might ultimately find additional uses in quantum information processing.
Observing gravitational waves involves detecting changes in the interference pattern created by a pair of interacting laser beams, each of which has bounced off a remote mirror whose distance changes slightly when a wave passes. Such detections require very high sensitivity, which is compromised by inherent quantum fluctuations in the light field. To reduce quantum noise, researchers currently use a technique called squeezing, in which the quantum fluctuations can be shifted from one parameter, such as the phase, to another, such as the intensity [2, 3].