MHz gravitational wave constraints with decameter Michelson interferometers

• Main Authors: Chou, Aaron S. (Author), Gustafson, Richard (Author), Hogan, Craig (Author), Kamai, Brittany (Author), Kwon, Ohkyung (Author), Larson, Shane L. (Author), Meyer, Stephan S. (Author), Richardson, Jonathan (Author), Stoughton, Chris (Author), Tomlin, Raymond (Author), Lanza Jr, Robert K (Contributor), McCuller, Lee P (Contributor), Weiss, Rainer (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics (Contributor), MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society, 2017-03-07T17:03:05Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 A new detector, the Fermilab Holometer, consists of separate yet identical 39-meter Michelson interferometers. Strain sensitivity achieved is better than 10[superscript -21]/√Hz between 1 to 13 MHz from a 130-h data set. This measurement exceeds the sensitivity and frequency range made from previous high frequency gravitational wave experiments by many orders of magnitude. Constraints are placed on a stochastic background at 382 Hz resolution. The 3σ upper limit on Ω[subscript GW], the gravitational wave energy density normalized to the closure density, ranges from 5.6×10[superscript 12] at 1 MHz to 8.4×10[superscript 15] at 13 MHz. Another result from the same data set is a search for nearby primordial black hole binaries (PBHB). There are no detectable monochromatic PBHBs in the mass range 0.83-3.5×10[superscript 21]  g between the Earth and the Moon. Projections for a chirp search with the same data set increase the mass range to 0.59-2.5×10[superscript 25]  g and distances out to Jupiter. This result presents a new method for placing limits on a poorly constrained mass range of primordial black holes. Additionally, solar system searches for PBHBs place limits on their contribution to the total dark matter fraction.