Maria Bader, PhD at Nikhef, will defend her thesis Tuesday 9 February 2021 online at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
In my dissertation Seismic and Newtonian noise modeling for Advanced Virgo and Einstein Telescope I developed a new method to model Newtonian noise in gravitational wave detectors. Newtonian noise is the direct coupling between the mirrors in the detector and density fluctuations in the seismic field at the detector location. In order to predict Newtonian noise, a detailed understanding of the seismic field of the detector location is necessary. This information is typically obtained with seismic field studies using large arrays of surface sensors and boreholes. We conducted two seismic field studies, one at the Advanced Virgo site in Italy, and one at the Dutch-German-Belgian Einstein Telescope candidate location in Limburg. With the gained information about subsurface layer structure, seismic noise sources and spectral measurements we developed a complete model of subsurface wave propagation, which encompasses surface and body waves. These detector specific models allowed us then to deduce the site-based Newtonian noise at the two detector locations and compare our results to previous estimates.
“Seismic and Newtonian noise modeling for Advanced Virgo and Einstein Telescope” (pdf)
The defense will be broadcasted on the youtubechannel of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam:
http://www.youtube.com/VUBeadlesOffice
Supervisor: prof. dr. J.F.J. van den Brand
Co-supervisor: dr. H.J. Bulten
contact: Maria Bader