Abstract
The ring laser gyroscope “G-Pisa” has been taking data inside the Virgo interferometer central area with the aim of performing high sensitivity measurements of rotations in the vertical as well as in the horizontal orientation. We discuss the main characteristics of the instrument, describing its mechanical design and presenting the measured sensitivity limit. By applying a simple effective model for the laser gyroscope, we show that the stability of the sensor above 10 s of integration time is mainly limited by backscattering effects. The horizontal rotation rate signal is also compared with the signals recorded by the Virgo environmental monitoring system and by a biaxial mechanical tiltmeter rigidly fixed on top of the gyrolaser mounting frame.
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Acknowledgements
We thank U. Schreiber and A. Velikoseltzev for the very useful discussions. The installation inside the Virgo central building has been possible only thanks to the strong support from the EGO and Virgo team. We would like to acknowledge M. Bazzi, A. Bozzi, S. Braccini, E. Calloni, F. Carbognani, V. Dattilo, G. Di Biase, F. Frasconi, and A. Pasqualetti. We acknowledge G. Balestri, G. Petragnani, and A. Soldani from the INFN, section of Pisa. We acknowledge M. Francesconi, F. Francesconi, S. Gennai, and M. Marinari from the Physics Department of Pisa. We thanks E. Lipmann for providing the tiltmeter.
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Belfi, J., Beverini, N., Bosi, F. et al. Performance of “G-Pisa” ring laser gyro at the Virgo site. J Seismol 16, 757–766 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-012-9277-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-012-9277-8