This thesis is a study of dynamics of the new laser gravitational-wave detectors. The analysis in the thesis is developed primarily for LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) but can be used for other interferometers such as VIRGO and TAMA. The dynamics of fields in the interferometers are described in terms of difference equations which take into account the light transit t...

We have derived an expression for the combined effects of a converging beam of light and mirror misalignment on the interferograms obtained with a Michelson interferometer. Each effect has been considered separately by others and leads to symmetric interferograms whose modulation is less than 100%. The combined effect produces an asymmetry in the interferogram as well as a decrease in the modul...

We investigate the shot-noise-limited sensitivity of a four-mirror-cavity enhanced Michelson interferometer. The intention of this interferometer topology is the reduction of thermal lensing and the impact of the interferometers contrast although transmissive optics are used with high circulating powers. The analytical expressions describing the light fields and the frequency response are deriv...

A white-light spectral interferometric technique is used to retrieve a relative spectral phase and group delay of a multilayer mirror from the spectral interferograms recorded in a dispersive Michelson interferometer. The phase retrieval is based on the use of a windowed Fourier transform in the wavelength domain, and characterization of the multilayer mirror is completed by a three-step measur...

Measurements of transverse beam size are tremendously important to the performance of ee linear colliders. In this paper we review the traditional technologies used to make such measurements, such as pro le monitors and wire scanners, and the limitations on same. We then introduce a new tool for electron beam size measurement: Compton-scattered laser light, which may be used as an unbreakable \...

Conventional interferometers usually utilize beam splitters for wave splitting and recombination. These interferometers are widely used for precision measurement. Their sensitivity for phase measurement is limited by the shot noise, which can be suppressed with squeezed states of light. Here we study a new type of interferometer in which the beam splitting and recombination elements are paramet...

We report a simple and robust computer-based active interferometer stabilization scheme which does not require modulation of the interfering beams and relies on an error signal which is linearly related to the optical path difference. In this setup, a non-collinearly propagating reference laser beam stabilizes the interference output of the laser light propagating collinearly through the interf...

Internal waves are a ubiquitous and significant means of momentum and energy transport in the oceans, atmosphere, and astrophysical bodies. Here, we show that internal wave propagation in nonuniform density stratifications, which are prevalent throughout nature, has a direct mathematical analogy with the classical optical problem of a Fabry-Perot multiple-beam light interferometer. We rigorousl...

A lightweight and electrically passive interferometer is demanded by a number of applications for precision metrology such as machine tool metrology and on-machine feedback [1]. To satisfy these requirements, a fiber-optic coupled heterodyne displacement measuring Michelson interferometer (FIDMI) shown in Fig.1 has been developed in the Center of Precision Metrology (CPM) at the University of N...

The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) is a long-baseline infrared interferometer located at Palomar Observatory, California. It was built as a testbed for interferometric techniques applicable to the Keck Interferometer. First fringes were obtained in July 1995. PTI implements a dual-star architecture, tracking two stars simultaneously for phase referencing and narrow-angle astrometry. The t...