A steadier hand for listening to the universe: infrared light tames a gravitational-wave detector snag

Gravitational-wave detectors listen for tiny ripples from distant cosmic collisions, and new ultra-quiet mirror coatings had created a tricky control problem. A team has shown infrared light can hand control smoothly to the main laser in about 60 seconds, with an error smaller than a tenth of an atom's width across a four-kilometre arm. Published in Physical Review D, the fix keeps the next generation of detectors on track to hear fainter events.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation